March 23, 2020
Dear Patients,
Patients that were in the office since Monday, March 9, 2020, had potential exposure to the novel coronavirus. Pursuant to current CDC guidelines, patients who had contact with the teams of Dr. Elliott, P.A. Griffin, P.A. Moody, and my team since March 9, 2020, should quarantine themselves for two weeks from the date they were in the office. Additionally, regardless of which team treated you, I recommend that if you were in the office since March 9, 2020, you quarantine yourself for two weeks from the date you were in the office. As you have probably heard by now, you can be contagious before symptoms appear.
I believe that I have also been infected. I am at home recovering.
This virus is very contagious. I urge you to stay at home and socially isolate.
The Georgia Department of Health has advised me to close the office and I have done so today.
If you begin to have symptoms of COVID-19 -- fever, chills, with cough and body aches -- and your symptoms are mild with no respiratory distress, there is no need for testing at this point, and you can manage your symptoms with over the counter prescriptions like Tylenol, ibuprofen and Mucinex.
If your symptoms are more severe and you are having shortness of breath, you should report to the emergency room at a nearby hospital.
I have been advised that Piedmont Hospital has stopped any routine testing, imaging, procedures, and surgeries. Nobody is sure how long that will last, but it is likely going to be somewhere between June to August.
We will be managing patients via the patient portal for next month as best as we can. Our goal is to provide you with up to 6 months of refills. If you are not enrolled in the patient portal, you may contact us via e-mail at [email protected].
Unfortunately, I have determined that I have no choice but to permanently close the office on April 24th, 2020. This was an incredibly difficult decision for me to make.
We are making arrangements for you and those you authorize to have access to your medical records and will be sending you additional information about this as soon as possible.
Please be patient with us as we all struggle to work through this national emergency.
T. Douglas Gurley MD
