As elective services resume, here’s what to expect when you visit the doctor in Centre County
Appointments, elective surgeries and other health care services that were scaled back in mid-March to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus are gradually resuming in Centre County.
Here is a look at what to expect at three of the biggest health care networks that operate in Centre County:
Can you go physically go to the hospital or doctor’s office?
Mount Nittany Health: Yes.
Patients can go to the emergency department, Mount Nittany Medical Center, doctors’ offices and other facilities. They are urged to contact their providers to reschedule any appointments that were delayed, including specialist visits.
Geisinger: Yes.
Many primary care and pediatric offices are open with limited hours and separate appointment times.
Expanded hours and locations are expected once administrators feel it is “safe and appropriate to do so,” Geisinger Western Region Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Hegstrom said in a statement.
The most up-to-date information about hours, closures and consolidations can be found at Geisinger.org/coronavirus.
“Safety is always our top priority, so we would not put our patients in the position where we would take any fewer precautions that we already are in all of our hospitals,” Hegstrom said. “... Our hospitals are as safe now as they have ever been because of these precautions and everyone should feel safe seeking care at Geisinger.”
Penn State Health: Yes.
Patients keeping their medical appointments, visiting specialists and going to the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for emergency care is “vital,” Penn State Health Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Peter Dillon said in a statement.
“Avoiding medical care out of fear of contracting COVID-19 may be detrimental or even dangerous to the long-term health of many patients. It’s essential that patients come to the clinic or hospital if they require medical or surgical treatment,” Dillon said. “We know that patients and families may have concerns and we want to reassure them that Penn State Health is taking rigorous steps to keep them safe when they come to a Penn State Health hospital or clinic for care.”
Some Penn State Health Medical Group locations in State College, including those at Colonnade, Benner Pike and the Windmere Center, have temporarily closed. Services are consolidated at other State College sites.
What can you expect when you go?
Mount Nittany: Everyone is screened before entering a facility. All patients, providers, employees and approved visitors are required to wear a mask.
Geisinger: All employees, patients and visitors are screened. Masks are mandatory in COVID-19 units.
Penn State Health: Safety measures include:
Social distancing, including spaced-out seating in waiting rooms and visual markers in hallways and clinics
All clinical staff are required to wear protective masks at all times
Regular deep cleaning throughout all Penn State Health facilities
Extended office hours in some locations, with staggered staffing shifts, to spread the patient traffic flow over a longer time period and mitigate congestion
Removal of nonessential items from practice site exam rooms and waiting areas to provide additional infection control
Modified registration, triage and checkout processes for patients to minimize time spent in waiting rooms and other common areas.
What is the status of elective services and surgeries?
Pennsylvania hospitals could conduct elective surgeries as of April 27 as long as they maintain the ability to properly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state Department of Health said.
Mount Nittany Health: Nonemergent surgeries and procedures at Mount Nittany Surgical Center and Mount Nittany Medical Center resumed Monday.
Geisinger: Services are expected to resume this month for low-risk patients whose procedures can be performed at an outpatient clinic and do not require COVID-19 testing, overnight hospitalization or the highest level of personal protective equipment.
Work will only be performed at clinics where COVID-19 is at a “manageable pace,” Hegstrom said. Geisinger’s central and western regions each meet that threshold.
The health care system plans to gradually expand its approach as it “becomes more confident in the virus’ status in our communities,” Hegstrom said.
Penn State Health: Nonemergent surgeries and other standard clinical activities are systematically returning, the health care system said Saturday.
Surgical patients will likely be tested for COVID-19 regardless of symptoms if a positive result would affect a surgeon’s decision to perform the surgery.
What are your telehealth options?
Mount Nittany Health: Telehealth visits, which were introduced in the past month as an option for primary and specialty visits, remain available.
Visits can completed through smartphones or other devices. Patients are encouraged to call their provider to discuss what type of visit is needed.
Telehealth visits are performed through Mount Nittany’s patient portal. Patients can sign up for an account at mymountnittanyhealth.com.
Geisinger: The health care system expanded its telehealth services to include primary care and more than 70 specialties. Visits remain available for a wide range of conditions, including the flu, rashes, diabetes, mental health and more.
Visits can be conducted via smartphone, computers with a camera and speakers or in a video-enabled room at some Geisinger clinics.
Penn State Health: Telehealth, including access to providers through the Penn State Health OnDemand App, remains an option. Virtual appointments may be the most appropriate depending on an individual’s condition and care needs.
What is the waiting room like now?
Mount Nittany: No visitors are permitted at Mount Nittany Medical Center or the emergency department, except in special situations.
Protective barriers between patients and staff were placed in all registration areas and physician group locations. Scheduling times between patient visits were extended to at least significantly limit the amount of people in waiting rooms.
Geisinger: A limited amount of people are permitted to be in waiting or procedural rooms to promote social distancing. Clinics also have floor markers and signs for seating.
Who can accompany you during a trip to the hospital?
Hospitals are strongly encouraged to allow someone to join pediatric patients, women in labor and those with an intellectual and/or developmental disability, or cognitive impairment, the DOH said.
Mount Nittany Health: Visitors are only allowed during special life events, including births. Parents or guardians should join children on their visits. Staff are also expected to work with those who serve as caregivers.
Geisinger: Routine in-person visits to hospitalized patients have been temporarily suspended. There are several other scenarios where visitors are permitted:
- Patients who are medically unstable (one visitor)
- Patients who are at the end of life (two visitors)
- Patients undergoing surgery or procedures (one single-time visitor immediately after the procedure)
- Delivering mothers (one support person)
- Patients who are minors and those with limited decisional capacity (up to two parents or guardians)
- Patients who have altered mental status or developmental delays and caregiver provides safety (one visitor)
- Patients with disruptive behavior, where a family member is key to their care (one visitor)
Penn State Health: Enhanced restrictions on visitors at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center remain in place, though there are several exceptions, including:
End-of-life patients
Pediatric patients
Patients in labor
Surgical patients
Adult patients who have a decision-maker
Where are COVID-19 patients treated?
Mount Nittany Health: Patients with a confirmed case of COVID-19 are treated in a specialized, 21-bed unit. The wing was converted from an existing medical unit in April.
Geisinger: COVID-19 patients are treated in a separate, designated area where all employees, patients and visitors are screened upon arrival.
Penn State Health: Confirmed and presumptive positive COVID-19 patients are cared for in a “negative-pressure isolation” and receive treatment from specially trained medical teams.
Health care professionals provide care to both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients, which is consistent with DOH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
The approach gives the health care system versatility and depth to respond to all of its critical care units, spokesman Scott Gilbert wrote in an email.
“It also allows front-line staff with needed time to work outside of the especially intensive environment of our COVID-19 units,” Gilbert wrote. “Nursing staff do not casually transition from COVID to non-COVID settings during their shift. Nurses either work a full shift on a COVID unit or move to a COVID unit mid-shift, but never go from a COVID unit to a non-COVID unit on the same day.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 11:28 AM.