What is your role in the St. Mary Mercy Livonia Emergency Department and how has it changed in the last 18 months?
Since October 2020, I have been Chair of the Emergency Department at St. Mary Mercy Livonia. Prior to that, I was Medical Director of the ED. My responsibilities have expanded significantly since the pandemic began and I have taken on much more of a leadership role. I have been involved in multiple processes and clinical initiatives, from operational processes, changes to adopting and offering our patients the latest evidence-based practice for testing and treatment. We successfully managed a national supply shortage of personal protective equipment early in the pandemic while keeping our colleagues safe, developed efficient testing protocols including the rollout of drive-up COVID-19 testing, and more recently we offer, for those eligible, to receive Monoclonal Antibody Infusions, a very promising treatment of COVID-19 for people exhibiting mild symptoms.
Is COVID-19 being spread in our community and if so, how significant is the spread?
COVID-19 is spreading in Livonia and surrounding communities and we are seeing an uptick in the number of hospitalized patients. That said, due to vaccines and widely adopted masking precautions, we are seeing lower numbers of hospitalizations overall when compared to last year but the upward trends in the past month has been concerning.
Are there any commonalities you have seen among hospitalized COVID-19 patients? If so, what are they and how has this changed since last year?
For the most part, hospitalized COVID-19 patients are older and have more underlying health conditions, however, we still see younger, healthier patients that fall very ill. We have some theories but thus far the medical community has no definitive explanation for why some people are asymptomatic while others experience severe complications which can lead to death. That is why it is so important to protect yourself, your loved ones, and our community.
In what way, if any, do increased numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients hinder overall public health?
The overall volume of people coming into the hospital, particularly the Emergency Department, has increased significantly. This is putting a strain on hospitals here in Michigan and across the country. We pride ourselves on delivering efficient, high-quality care inside our ED but if the trend continues, routine emergency visits will be delayed and EMS transport times will take much, much longer. What is concerning for all local emergency department leaders, is the threat that extremely high patient volumes pose to quality care standards and overall patient outcomes when all local hospitals are at capacity.
Are people still dying from COVID-19 or is it less serious a health risk than it was last year?
Patients are still being placed on ventilators and some are experiencing more severe complications from COVID-19 and passing away. It is still unclear how many more virus mutations will occur and if they will increase transmissibility similar to the Delta variant, which hit Livonia hard over the summer. Therefore, it is important for all of us to do our part to avoid high-risk situations, to limit the spread, and to especially avoid putting seniors and those immunocompromised at risk.
What do you say to people that are fed up with restrictions and believe that our community's response has been excessive?
I understand that people are tired of the restrictions but if they saw the advanced nature of this disease and the devastation it is having on the families of our patients, maybe then it would foster greater understanding and patience. A unified community response that embraces evidence-based precautions that are proven to work is paramount to protecting each other. We need to do everything we can to stop the continued spread of the virus.
What health advice do you have for our community this fall, COVID-19 or otherwise?
Please do your part by taking measures that lower the risk of spread. Please social distance, avoid large crowds, wear a mask in crowded indoor places, and wash your hands regularly. Also, please get vaccinated if you qualify for a vaccine. The vaccine is the number one defense we have individually and collectively as a community.
St. Mary Mercy Livonia's Emergency Department is here for your emergent needs. If your illness is not an emergency, please seek your primary care physician's recommendations, as EDs across the state are currently experiencing large volumes and wait times.
COVID-19 testing is widely available in the community and at many urgent care locations, so please consider seeking testing there when concerned about exposure and not experiencing symptoms.
