Local health officials offer tips, info about coronavirus
Health executives from Baptist Health and Emergency Resources Group (ERG) gave some tips on how to keep coronavirus COVID-19 from spreading Wednesday morning, March 11, the same day the national World Health Organization dubbed it a pandemic and a day after the Florida Department of Health confirmed the first case in Nassau County. That brings the total number of people identified with the virus in the state of Florida to 21, according to the department.
One of the tips was that Jacksonville residents – and anyone in the state – could schedule a virtual appointment with a Baptist or ERG health provider for a checkup or screening at a reduced rate, in order to help increase access to services and to limit the close human contact that leads to exposure.
Dr. Elizabeth Ransom, Baptist executive vice president; Dr. David Rice, senior vice president and chief quality officer; Dr. Matthew Rill, CEO of Emergency Resources Group (ERG) and Dr. Mobeen Rathore, infection disease specialist at Baptist and Wolfson Children’s Hospital discussed the new initiative and latest information about the spread of the coronavirus.
Rill said the virtual visits were a partnership between ERG and Baptist and could be conducted through the app Telescope Health, which works on iPhones, Androids and PCs. The visits are normally $49 but will be reduced to $25 due to the crisis. “We want to make it more available to more people,” he said. “During this time of community crisis, we want to make it more accessible.” He said televisits were a safe way to avoid person-to-person contact that could spread the disease, and that Baptist and ERG would be working with the local and state health departments and the CDC to route patients suspected of having coronavirus to testing, treatment, and hospitalization if needed. Essentially, the visits are a telechat and are available to anyone in the state.
“I think telemedicine will be invaluable in this crisis and an access point for the future of healthcare,” Rill said. The program has been live since May 1, 2019.
Rathor also explained that because so little was known about the virus, residents should keep in mind that information about the virus would be ever evolving. The best weapon? His “holster” of hand sanitizer.
The Resident plans to run a more in-depth feature in our next edition about how COVID-19 is affecting schools, nursing homes and employment in our neighborhoods. In the meantime, here are the chief takeaways from the news conference:
- Wash your hands and use hand sanitizer if you can’t wash. Rathor said that is the best, most basic way to prevent the spread of the virus.
- Stay home if you are sick.
- If you think you might be sick, schedule a televisit.
- Clean and disinfect frequently used surfaces often.
- Use cough and sneeze etiquette – shield your sneeze in the inside of your elbow, wash your hands after coughing or sneezing.
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