Believe it or not, there are times you shouldn’t shelter in place…
Times you should not shelter in place
When you suspect you’re having a heart attack or stroke
When you are seriously or critically ill
When you normally wouldn’t have given a second thought about going to the Emergency Department
One of the disheartening fallouts from COVID-19 is that we are seeing some patients put off their emergency care because of fear about COVID-19 at hospitals.We want you to know:
We are not overrun with COVID-19 patients at Community Hospital or in our Emergency Department
We separate COVID-19 suspected and confirmed patients from the rest of our patient population
We have resources that can help members of our community get the care they need or get help assessing their health situation — MoGo Urgent Care clinics in Monterey and Marina, eVisits, and telehealth video visits.
Please don’t delay the treatment you might need. And please don’t be afraid — your safety always has been, and still is, our top priority.
This is an email I received a few minutes ago from the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. We locals call it “CHOMP.” Some call it that with anger because the prices are quite high. I call it CHOMP lovingly because back in December 1995 CHOMP saved my life for $2,000. Most was paid by insurance, but even out of pocket my life was worth at least $2,000, maybe even $5,000. 🙂
I wrote about it in an op/ed titled “Make Money Off My Sickness, Please.” I also wrote about in my health care chapter in The Joy of Freedom: An Economist’s Odyssey.
READER COMMENTS
Phil H
Apr 23 2020 at 9:35pm
I’m sure it’s an excellent hospital, but this seems an odd thing to highlight. If patients decide that on balance, they don’t want to seek healthcare at this time, that’s their choice.
Mark Z
Apr 24 2020 at 4:16am
It will remain their choice, the hospital reasonably just wants to inform people that going to the ER isn’t as dangerous with respect to covid19 as they might think. A more informed decision is usually better than a less informed one presumably.
Jerry Brown
Apr 24 2020 at 12:41am
I think this is an important post. My brother, a Dr. at several urgent care clinics has also told me the same story. If you have chest pains or symptoms of a stroke do not hesitate to call an ambulance or get to a hospital. Your chances of catching and dying from covid19 there are far less than from lack of treatment from heart attack or stroke. Call 911 immediately.
Charley Hooper
Apr 24 2020 at 12:31pm
My local hospital reported on the radio news today that it was hurting financially and that there are many elective surgeries that shouldn’t be postponed anymore. In other words, “we’re open for business.”
My local fire chief told me that 911 calls have dramatically declined. People are either being more careful, are self-treating, or have just decided that they’d rather avoid the hospital entirely.
Comments are closed.