During the coronavirus pandemic, people experiencing serious health issues have been avoiding going to the doctor or the local emergency room, thinking there is not room for them or it is not safe to seek care. WEMU's Lisa Barry talks with Dr. Rob McCurdy, an emergency physician at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, who wants people to know it is advisable to seek treatment, even if they are not sure it is a life threatening emergency, and local hospitals are prepared to handle any kind of health emergency safely, even though they are dealing with a pandemic.
Dr. McCurdy says there is no reason not to seek treatment if you're having serious medical symptoms, even though we're in the middle of a pandemic and even if you're not sure what is going on. He says they are ready for people to come in and wants to remind people that they are not "bothering them" to go in, which some people have expressed. He says, at St. Joe in Ann Arbor, there typically is no delay in being seen by a provider as they have the emergency department set up to get people directly to a bed, so patients are not sitting in the waiting room.
Even though they are seeing and dealing with a lot of COVID-19 patients, he says they are here to safely take care of you, adding people are not getting the life-saving treatments they need. He says they need to take care of potentially serious health threats before it's too late and says don't be afraid to call 911 if you're having symptoms.
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— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu
