Local hospitals want people to know that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, they can still get emergency care.
Christopher Smalley is the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth. He says they have capacity there.
“We have 170 beds at our hospital. Not all of them are full, so if people need to come in for emergency care – heart attack, stroke, whatever – we have the capability to have them as in-patients,” said Smalley. “I know that’s a concern out there in the community that if somebody were to come to the hospital for emergency surgery or emergency care, might they contact COVID-19. There are so many protections in place to prevent and or limit that from happening.”
He says that things at the hospital are going well. They planned for a surge to have extra equipment, supplies, and staffing. They’re starting to see what they think is a flattening of the curve.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll be going onto the downward trend. Time will tell; this is not a usual type of virus. We’re still concerned that there could be a resurgence of it,” said Smalley. “However, we are well-prepared. The staff is doing well. Thank you to the listeners for their ongoing support of the staff at Beth Israel Deaconess in Plymouth.”
A Healthcare Heroes Fund for gear and financial donations is on their website, bidplymouth.org.
