Family Practice procedures expand to focus on safety

Home visits, telehealth and curbside service have worked their way to priority status at Family Practice of Holyoke in an attempt to keep healthy, as well as contagious, patients from having to come in to the clinic located in Melissa Memorial Hospital.

Curbside visits are being coordinated for allergy shots. Telehealth and home visits are targeted for hospital follow-ups, medication refills or other care needs that providers believe are necessary.

Initially, well-patient services for men, women and children were being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, this week the clinic will be offering the services through home visits since the social distancing mandates have been extended.

Telehealth visits involve a health professional traveling to a patient’s home and setting up the patient for a conference with a provider via iPad or phone.

Those making the telehealth visits include community paramedic Lisa Werts, as well as Cassie Chappell and other staff nurses.

Clinic manager Jayden Miracle also noted that the staff can email or text a link to a patient to connect them with a provider.

Patients who think they might have COVID-19 are instructed to call the triage line through 970-854-2500. COVID-19 screening will be completed and a triage nurse will determine whether the person is a candidate for curbside service, telehealth or a home visit for testing.

Screening at the door of Family Practice is still being done for all who enter the building, including providers, staff and patients.

Temperatures are taken and a list of questions are asked to ensure the person’s optimal health before they are allowed to enter.

Northeast Colorado Health Department reminds everyone that isolation and quarantine are serious steps taken to protect the public by preventing exposure to people who are sick or have been exposed to people who are sick.

Generally, a person’s residence is the preferred setting for quarantine and isolation. “As the number of positive cases increases in northeast Colorado, contact investigations we are performing may begin to reveal common community exposures,” said Public Health Director Trish McClain.

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