Dr. Hrach MD – ExtraCare February 2020 Newsletter

COVID-19 Update

COVID-19 Update
Many of you have been calling, asking about how to prepare for a potential COVID-19 outbreak in our community. I thought it would be helpful to update you on this ever changing health crisis and share with you some recommendations for preparation.
Here’s what we know at this point:

To date there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara county but the CDC warns that most Americans are at risk of catching the novel strain of the coronavirus in the next year or two.

We are far from a vaccine and clinical trials are ongoing to test several different antiviral treatment options for the critically ill.

COVID-19 generally does not affect children or young adults.

80% of people infected with COVID-19 suffer only mild symptoms.

20% of people infected with COVID-19 suffer moderate to severe symptoms, sometimes requiring hospitalization.

The death rate from COVID-19 increases with age.

Higher risk individuals include:

Older adults (those over age 60)
People who have serious chronic medical conditions like:
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Lung disease

The CDC recommends that if you are at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19, you should:

-Stock up on supplies. This includes prescription and non prescription medications.

-Take everyday precautions to keep space between yourself and others.

-When you go out in public, keep away from others who are sick, limit close contact and wash your hands often.

-Avoid crowds as much as possible.

-Avoid cruise travel and non-essential air travel.

-During a COVID-19 outbreak in your community, stay home as much as possible to further reduce your risk of being exposed.

Our office has implemented a sick visit policy to better protect our vulnerable patients and to protect ourselves. We will not be able to help our patients in times of need if we are all home on quarantine!
If you are sick with possible COVID-19 symptoms including nasal congestion, fever, cough or shortness of breath we ask that you speak with me first. I will be triaging calls to determine whether a phone consult, video consult or face to face visit is appropriate. If we do determine that an office visit is appropriate we ask that you enter the building through the rear entrance and don a mask immediately. Our staff will escort you to the appropriate exam room which will be thoroughly disinfected after you leave. Video visits are a great way to see me without having to leave home. They can be done on your desktop, laptop, ipad or smartphone. All that is required is a camera on your device. We have already performed several video visits this week. In order to get the most out of your video visit it’s important for you to have the appropriate tools at home. If you don’t have a thermometer at home I ask you to purchase one NOW. It is also helpful to keep a pulse oximeter on hand https://www.amazon.com/pulse-oximeter/s?k=pulse+oximeter and a blood pressure monitor https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Health-Personal-Care-Blood-Pressure-Monitors/zgbs/hpc/3777151. With these tools I can make a reliable assessment of your clinical status and guide you to the appropriate treatment.

These are scary times for all of us. This is an unprecedented event with uncertain outcomes and we are learning as we go along. Please know that our office is here for you to help in any way we can. I will keep you updated on new information as it becomes available and am available to provide advice and guidance.
We will get through this together!

Links to CDC publications on COVID-19
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/2019-ncov-factsheet.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/sick-with-2019-nCoV-fact-sheet.pdf