March 2nd, 2020 by WCBC Radio
Nancy Adams, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at UPMC Western Maryland, has issued the following statement in response to a WCBC inquiry into local preparedness for the Coronavirus.
“UPMC Western Maryland is staying informed of developments with COVID-19 and is in regular contact with our partners at local, state and federal public health authorities. When we have questions, we receive very prompt replies and we appreciate the guidance. We are currently using a containment strategy to identify cases and prevent transmission to others. We are also preparing our mitigation strategy for when COVID-19 becomes widely prevalent within the U.S., minimizing the impact on our community and preserving our ability to care for patients.”
“UPMC Western Maryland health care workers are educated to recognize potential COVID-19 disease, use appropriate precautions, and immediately get system assistance (24/7) for evaluation and management. We have a travel screening protocol in place at all our facilities so we can quickly recognize patients who may be at risk for having contracted COVID-19, based on both their travel history and symptoms. This is continuously re-evaluated as the epidemic evolves. If a patient is flagged by our screening, we quickly institute infection prevention protocols (such as masking and separating that patient from other patients) according to CDC guidelines. We then contact our public health partners to evaluate the patient and determine next steps. If a sample needs to be taken for testing, we have proper protocols in place to take that sample and safely deliver it to public health authorities for testing.”
“We have a strong supply chain system in place to make sure we are receiving adequate personal protection supplies, such as masks, gloves and gowns, and are properly allocating them.”
“Our community can be reassured that UPMC facilities and staff are well-equipped to properly care for patients with contagious diseases without exposing other patients, staff or visitors.”
“We encourage patients who have any reason to believe they may have COVID-19 to call first so we can evaluate them without exposing others.”
March 02, 2020 at 4:37 pm, mac said:
I’m sorry to put a damper on this PR blurb but I’m not excited to know that a hospital, any hospital, is ready to receive patients if they are ill. Should we expect any less? Are we supposed to to thank them profusely for being ready to do their job?
March 02, 2020 at 7:03 pm, Peter said:
Having cold/flu symptoms for 2 days I just called the Hospital, talked to a person in the ER. I explained my symptoms and asked if they would advice for me to come in. Without asking any further questions the person stated that it would be on my own discretion to come in or not.
It didn’t feel like there is a lot of concern. Should there not have been some more questions regarding my condition?