The chief of staff at St. John Hospital is reminding residents that even though there are changes due to COVID-19 at the clinic and hospital, people still need to address their urgent medical problems.
In an April 6 letter to the residents of the Omineca Region, Dr. Rebecca Janssen, chief of staff at St. John Hospital in Vanderhoof provided a weekly update.
Letter: We go to work for you, stay home for us
“The St. John Hospital Emergency Room is open. If you have an urgent or emergent medical problem, please don’t delay coming to the ER,” Janssen wrote in the letter.
Examples of such problems might include, but are not limited to the following, the doctor said.
- fractures, chest pain, shortness of breath, severe abdominal pain, cuts that need stitches, sick babies/children that seem dehydrated, etc.
In other updates, Lab and X-rays will now be done for ‘urgent and emergent’ situations only.
“If your physician feels that you need urgent lab or X-ray, a requisition will be faxed to St. John Hospital by clinic staff.”
“The lab/X-ray department will then call you for an appointment. This is being done to minimize traffic through the hospital and to maintain social distancing.”
Janssen also said that at this time,”things in our clinic/hospital are going well and are under control. However, I think that it is critically important that we continue to maintain social distancing, good hand hygiene and quarantining if ill.”
“This is not the time for complacency!”
Aman Parhar
Editor, Vanderhoof Omineca Express
aman.parhar@ominecaexpress.com
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