UMass Memorial Medical Center Prepares For Coronavirus
WORCESTER (CBS) - The annual fitting for N95 face masks for hundreds of employees at UMass Memorial Medical Center is taking on particular urgency this year because of coronavirus.
"We want to be prepared that the coronavirus, we will be prepared if it comes to our location," nurse manager Tim McKeon told WBZ-TV. "So we are gearing everything up in order to make sure all of our caregivers are safe."
The testing makes sure the masks are a tight fit while the hospital is also making sure the supply of masks doesn't dry up.
In the next room a command center has been set up. It's become a clearinghouse for any information, updates, and training having to do with coronavirus.
Epidemiologist Dr. Richard Ellison said the virus is placing new stresses on their care.
"Having these patients come into the emergency department is putting extra demand, much more demand on the emergency departments," he told WBZ.
That's because of new protocols in emergency departments when sick patients arrive. Most, he says, will have the flu or pneumonia and there are strict CDC guidelines about who can be tested for the coronavirus. Has there been local transmission where they live? Have they been in contact with someone known to have the virus? Have they traveled to a high-risk country?
"Right now we don't have the capacity to simply test everyone," Dr. Ellison said. "Having said that, the majority of people do not need to be tested."
Within the last week the state lab in Massachusetts has begun testing for the virus which has sped up the process.
But, Ellison said, "You can't go zero to 100 mph right away, and so we are in a situation where the state is trying to rapidly increase its testing capacity."
The hospital is now monitoring one patient for the coronavirus described as an older individual with underlying health conditions with no other explanation for severe pneumonia. Two other cases have been cleared.
As guidelines for the virus continue to evolve the pressure for hospitals will only increase.