Tent raised outside of Eisenhower Health Emergency Department for patient screening
Eisenhower Health continues to see an increase in patients amid the surging coronavirus pandemic and is converting parts of the hospital to treat them.
A large outdoor tent is now ready outside of the Emergency Department entrance.
"We may see patients in hallways, temporarily in the Emergency Department," Dr. Euthym Kontaxis, Director of Emergency Medicine at Eisenhower Health, told News Channel 3. "We're hopeful that we can avoid that as much as possible."
The goal of the tent? Kontaxis says, "to open up a little more space for patients that are COVID-suspect, to avoid cross-contamination because we don't want them all in a small area. So we're really looking at all of our options to make sure we keep the community safe."
The tent is strategically placed across from the Emergency Department entrance so that medical professionals will "be able to evaluate patients with a nurse and physician out there and do a screening test. And then from that point, assign the patient the proper area."
Watch the in-depth interview on News Channel 3 at 6:30 on CBS Local 2.
The tent comes as the hospital is also converting "another major wing of the hospital and isolation rooms for COVID patients." Eisenhower Health Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Alan Williamson spoke with News Channel 3 last week.
He also confirmed Eisenhower Health is not rationing their care. “That's an incredibly difficult step for anyone to have to take," said Dr. Willamson. "So we're obviously focusing a 100% of our attention on doing everything we possibly can to have to avoid having to get into the crisis mode.”
MORE: COVID-19 Hospitalizations - Eisenhower Health
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