HARLINGEN, TX
A special procedure is looking to protect hospital patients from the COVID-19.
In Cameron County, we’re beginning to see tents going up at hospitals known as “Triage Isolation Units.”
They’re the first point of contact for patients arriving at the emergency room.
Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen confirms that every individual admitted to their emergency room is screened for COVID-19 before being admitted. Those suspected to have the Novel Coronavirus are sent to these tents for temporary isolation.
“These efforts are not taken lightly, physician advisor Christopher D. Romero, MD, PHD, “we’re doing everything we can to keep not only the people working in our hospital, the patients that are being cared for in our hospital, but our community at large from being more impacted by this virus.”
The tents have already been in use with some of the few that have tested positive in Cameron County.
Patients receive filtered air that connects only to the tents and are seen by medical professionals before being discharged or admitted into the hospital.
“We’ve been able to keep patients that have been become positive that were not admitted to the hospital,” says Romero, “They were evaluated and discharged from the tent.”
If you suspect you have the COVID-19 Virus, health experts recommend that you not show up to the hospital un-announced. Contact your doctor or your county’s hotline.
