What Precautions Are Hospitals And Urgent Care Centers Taking During COVID-19? - Legacy ER

Yes, it is safe to take advantage of ER and urgent care center services in North Richland Hills right now — even as the world navigates the coronavirus pandemic. It is safe because emergency care and urgent care clinic staff are taking extra measures to make certain that operations and patients remain that way.

Here are just a few of the precautions North Richland Hills ER patients can expect — plus, answers to some of your most frequently asked questions.

Expect Thorough Screening Questions

Before entering our facilities, all North Richland Hills ER patients and urgent care patients will be asked a series of screening questions. Expect questions about any flu-like symptoms you may have had recently, questions pertaining to travel, and questions about whether you definitely have been or may have been in contact with a COVID-19-positive person recently.

As for possible COVID symptoms and the specifics, practitioners are likely to ask if you have had a fever recently. They may also ask about chills, coughing, difficulty breathing, sore throat, runny nose, and fatigue. For a full list of possible symptoms, see guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Temperatures Taken At The Door

Whether you need urgent care or emergency care facilities (just 3% of those who originally sought urgent care services need to go to the ER instead), staff will be taking temperatures at the door. Anyone with an elevated temperature will not be permitted inside the building or buildings with non-COVID patients.

Anyone with a temperature or COVID-19 symptoms will be treated entirely separately from other patients. If you suspect symptoms, be open about them in your initial screening as well.

Other Precautions You Might See

Many members of the staff will be wearing masks, and many patients will be too. Before coming in and after leaving — and, in fact, for the foreseeable future — it is important for you to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Use hand sanitizer where available and/or when it is not possible to wash your hands with soap and water.

Surfaces, waiting areas, patient rooms, and medical equipment will be thoroughly disinfected, cleaned, and sanitized. ER and urgent care facilities will be held to the highest possible levels of cleanliness and sanitation. Visiting medical offices is safe. It is markedly safer than visiting the grocery store or getting takeout from your local restaurant, for example (and local guidelines say those things are also safe with reasonable precautions!).

Do I Need An In-Person Appointment?

Finally, if you’re wondering whether to visit a North Richland Hills ER or urgent care center, but you’re not quite certain you need to make an appointment in person, call ahead of time.

If you need to visit in person, no appointment is necessary, and the ER and urgent care are open for regular business hours.

Telehealth appointments are available for routine concerns and COVID-19 testing. Telehealth appointments are treated much like regular appointments with a professional treatment consultation and notes in your medical record. A nurse hotline is available for quick questions and to direct you to the appropriate medical care facility or the most appropriate option for more in-depth care.

Is it safe to go to the ER or urgent care right now? Absolutely! Get the medical care you need — whether it is related to the pandemic or not — and rest assured that facilities are safe and clean, and staff are taking all necessary precautions to protect you and your family.