A word to our patients on COVID-19
As the situation with coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to develop, our providers & staff are ready to support you. You rely on us to keep you well and treat you when you are not, and we're going to continue to be available through this crisis. Nothing is more important to us than your health and safety, and especially those of you most vulnerable to the coronavirus.
Our Coronavirus Action Plan
At the Florida Internal Medicine office: We are taking multiple steps to minimize health risks to you, our office staff and the community, including enhanced cleaning procedures in our office. In addition, you will notice that we immediately take anyone out of our waiting area who has symptoms of infection. We have a specific isolation room, separate from our usual exam rooms. We wear protective gear and provide increasingly scarce masks to all our our patients during their office visit.
When you call: We are prescreening calls for appointments, and advising callers when we feel their symptoms are more appropriate for staying at home to recover -- or if it's best to proceed to a higher level of care, such as urgent care centers or emergency rooms. Because of the severity of some coronavirus infection complications, waiting for an office visit could delay essential care. Please help us care for you by following our recommendations.
Telemedicine: Fortunately, we now have a new way of caring for you made possible by the National Emergency Declaration on March 12, 2020. You may prefer to stay at home and connect with us by text, voice call or video conference. Dr. Ryan & Nicole, our Nurse Practitioner, are frequently available virtually, in a secure and private way, by computer or smart phone. Please see “Telemedicine” information on the practice website FloridaInternalMedicine.net, or ask the receptionist when you call. And of course our providers are still always available after hours by calling the office and leaving a message on voicemail.
What you should do: First & foremost, sanitize your hands frequently by hand washing with soap & water (best) or use alcohol based hand sanitizer gel or spray. The CDC says it has to be at least 60-70% alcohol to kill viruses & bacteria. You can make your own from aloe (1/3) and isopropyl alcohol 99% (2/3); there are recipes on the CDC & WHO websites. And no, "essential oils" & tea tree oil won’t work. Viruses stay active for hours on surfaces touched by multiple persons. Clean hard surfaces frequently, and don’t eat or even touch your face until you sanitize those hands.
You’ve heard the new term “social distancing” -- avoiding public spaces and limiting non-essential travel to keep away from infected persons. This slows the spread of the virus and allows the sick person time to recover without transmitting the infection to another. An excellent explanation is provided by the Washington Post's coronavirus simulator. Please stay home for all but essential trips.
COVID-19 risk of death by age group
Understand your personal risks. Much like the influenza season every year, complications & deaths occur mostly in persons with major medical conditions, such as cancer, heart and lung disease and diabetes. Also, you are at higher risk as you get older.
If this describes you, become serious about managing your health by taking your medicines, following your diet and keeping in contact with our office for routine & urgent care.
Stay calm. Don’t let minor symptoms take on undeserved significance. In outbreaks across the world, it is now becoming clear there are many more mild cases of coronavirus than severe. Click on the image below to identify important symptoms. Staying home and treating symptoms with common over the counter medicines will be enough, unless fever, cough and congestion are not getting better.
Symptoms very between different causes of respiratory illnesses
We understand these times can be challenging, and we are here to help—whether it's providing advice on immediate symptoms or planning for your long-term health. Please call our office if you have questions or are feeling coronavirus symptoms (fever, trouble breathing and/or cough), but in a medical emergency, please call 911.
