McLaren Northern Michigan Urges Residents Do Not Wait To Seek Emergency Care
McLaren Northern Michigan is reminding individuals to continue to seek care for medical emergencies. Physicians are concerned that many individuals who should have sought medical care for non-COVID related concerns have put off treatment that may be endangering your health and life.
“One of the tragic aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York is that people were afraid of going to the Emergency Department for fear of getting COVID. That has resulted in an increase of unnecessary deaths at home in New York. We don’t want that to happen here,” said Andrew Mcdonagh, MD, Chief Medical Officer at McLaren Northern Michigan
McLaren Northern Michigan has taken multiple steps to ensure that all patients are safe. In addition to following the governor’s mandated orders for screening and visitation, McLaren Northern Michigan triages patients upon arrival at the emergency department. There are designated respiratory recovery areas in both the Emergency Department and in the hospital to keep you safe.
The hospital’s in-house lab is now capable of completing rapid COVID-19 testing for inpatients. “The fact that we can quickly assess whether a patient has COVID-19 or not is a game changer,” said Karen Denbesten, MD, Medical Director of Infection Prevention at McLaren Northern Michigan. “We can immediately isolate patients and ensure that our staff and other patients are effectively protected from transmission. We were already doing this by treating any patient with respiratory symptoms as if they had COVID-19, but now we have more assurance due to our testing capability.”
While COVID is a public health emergency; heart attacks, strokes, and sepsis are far more deadly. If you are experiencing signs or symptoms of heart attack, stroke, or sepsis, seek medical attention immediately.
“We have created a safe environment here,” expressed Dr. Denbesten. “We have implemented plans to safely provide care and treatment for all patients. Please don’t put off your urgent medical needs and put your life at risk.”