Dear Friends and Supporters,
This has been a heart-warming week at Macon Volunteer Clinic. We’re back to a hybrid of pre-pandemic operations – and with a few of our dear volunteers! Our patients need us more than ever, and our donors believe in us. We are committed to exceed expectations as we strengthen our telemedicine skills and implement careful safety measures for essential clinic visits.
Beginning Monday, June 15, we resumed clinic hours of 4-7 pm Mondays and Tuesdays, and 9-12 noon Wednesdays and Thursdays. Eligibility screenings are scheduled Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings. Administration hours continue from 8:30-4:00 Monday through Thursday, and until noon Friday.
To maximize the health and safety of staff, patients, volunteers and our community, we have added the measures of:
·
Continued screening at entrance for temperature and a risk questionnaire
·
Personal Protective Equipment requirement for staff, volunteers and patients
·
Added clinic cleaning and sanitation
·
Air purification systems and sneeze guards
·
Increased hand sanitizing opportunities
·
Physical distancing – no visitors may accompany patients into the clinic unless they are a translator or legal guardian; and only 2 patients may be within the clinic at a time.
It may be some time before our full cadre of volunteers returns to help us reach former capacity, as none of us know the duration of these pandemic circumstances. We are continuously monitoring and reevaluating our hybrid operations for maximizing safety and access for our neighbors who rely on us. If you are inspired to return as a volunteer, please contact
bsmith@maconvolunteerclinic.org
. We’d love to see you!
We are also excited to share that we’ve launched ‘Helpline SOS’ as a COVID-19 resource for our community. Try calling 478-755-1110 and you’ll hear exactly how it works! This is funded for us through the Georgia Charitable Care Network (GCCN).
Basically, when patients call our main line, they are instructed to immediately dial an extension for any questions or concerns about COVID-19.
Otherwise, they continue with our normal options.
When they hit the extension, they start an interactive voice recognition system.
First, they hear a disclaimer that this is a helpline and does not substitute or replace the advice of their personal health care provider. They are also instructed to call 911 if they are experiencing severe difficulty breathing.
Next, they are taken through a series of questions, and they answer through their phone keypad. The system recognizes their responses and records them in real time into a Google doc. They are asked again about difficulty breathing and a “yes” response directs them to call 911. They are asked their age, if they are symptomatic, if they have chronic health problems, and their preferred contact information.
No PHI is collected in the Google doc.
Staff return the calls and manage any follow-up needed.
Again, only COVID-19 concerns go through this process. All other calls are processed with our normal options (this will make sense when you give it a try).
Our HelplineSOS is open to the community and some of our calls may come in from non-MVC patients. We are happy we can provide this resource during these uncertain times.
Would you like to support this amazing community resource during the pandemic? You don’t have to have a medical background, and a script is provided for callbacks. It’s something you can easily do from home! Please e-mail
lbarton@maconvolunteerclinic.org
if interested. It’s a unique opportunity to serve our entire community.
Thank you for your sustained support for Macon Volunteer Clinic during these tumultuous times. Now more than ever, it’s an honor to be a safety net agency for our neighbors in need.
Warmest regards,
Nancy White
Executive Director
