Marlborough Hospital asked me to share a public service announcement. The video of the hospital’s ER staff warns the public not to put off dealing with health emergencies due to Covid-19 fears.
A video warns:
We absolutely don’t want people delaying their medical emergencies. This can have dire consequences for your health.
Staff assures that precautions are in place to avoid virus spread. The video is below, or you can watch it here.
I normally don’t share news from neighboring towns – but since Southborough doesn’t have it’s own hospital, sharing the PSA made sense. Since I’m sharing news from one neighboring hospital, I thought it made sense to check in on the facility over another border.
Here’s information from Framingham Union Hospital on its covid procedures and Emergency Room:
Here For Emergencies
Your Safe Care is Our PriorityA Community Built on Safety
We remain committed to safe, quality care as always, and we want you to feel confident coming to our hospital. We take precautions to separate COVID-19 patients and ensure a safe environment for treating non-COVID-19 emergencies, chronic conditions and new or worsening symptoms.Commitment from our hospital staff
We understand that you may be concerned about COVID-19 when coming to the hospital. Rest assured, our staff is taking every precaution to keep you and your loved ones safe.
- Evaluating patients and teams when entering the hospital
- Keeping potential COVID-19 patients separated from other patients
- Increasing precautions for infection prevention
- Pre-screening patients with scheduled care multiple times as well as day of the care
- Providing access to testing with quick turnaround for patients that meet COVID-19 testing criteria
- Training staff with timely safety measures
- Wearing masks and other protective gear to prevent contact and spread of germs
When to come to the ER
Please – don’t delay care if you or a loved one have symptoms that are best evaluated in an emergency room, which may include:
- Broken bones and dislocated joints
- Chest pains
- Concussion/fainting
- Confusion/change in mental state
- Facial lacerations
- Fever with a rash
- Head or eye injury
- Seizures
- Serious burns
- Severe cuts that may require stitches
- Severe non-COVID-19 cold or flu symptoms
- Shortness of breath
- Vaginal bleeding with pregnancy
Signs of a heart attack
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Upper body discomfort, such as arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach
- Difficulty breathing
- Cold sweat, nausea, lightheaded
- Especially for women – difficulty breathing, nausea/vomiting, back or jaw pain
Signs of a stroke
B – Balance – Is there a loss of balance, coordination or trouble walking?
E – Eyes – Is it difficult to see in one or both eyes?F – Face – When the person smiles, does one side of the face droop?
A – Arms – Does one arm drift down when the person raises both arms?
S – Speech – Is speech strange or slurred?
T – Time – Don’t wait to call 9-1-1 if you see any of the above signsWhen to call 911
Call 911 for an ambulance for certain emergencies such as a heart attack or stroke. Paramedics can often begin delivering life-savings treatment on the way to the hospital. Also call 911 if you’re unsure whether to drive yourself. Your safety is our highest priority.
Updated (5/7/20 2:32 pm): A reader alerted me that in the context of a medical alert, many may assume PSA refers to “Prostate Specific Antigen” vs Public Service Announcement
