Well people urged not call COVID-19 hotline
Beaumont receiving about 5,000 calls a day
Seeking to keep its COVID-19 Hotline open for people who may be suffering, Beaumont Hospital officials are urging the “worried well” to refrain from calling.
The hotline at 800-5924784 takes in about 5,000 calls a day. An undisclosed number of calls are from people who have no symptoms and healthcare workers are concerned it could create problems.
“So far we’re not seeing much of a problem” from well people clogging the phone center, said Dr. Justin Skrzynski, an internal medicine physician at Beaumont in Royal Oak. “We’ve been able to handle the volume of calls. But with this steep rise in cases, we want to keep (the hotline) open for people who need it urgently.”
Right now, most cases of COVID-19 can be treated outside of the hospital, he added.
“That’s about 80 percent” of coronavirus sufferers, Skrzynski said.
Symptoms for the majority of those who become ill from the virus include fever, cough, shortness of breath and muscle aches — much like the flu.
“The thing that causes most of the fatalities is re
spiratory issues, that would be a warning sign,” Skrzynski said.
Similarly, Beaumont is offering limited curbside screening for COVID-19 at its Royal Oak, Troy, Dearborn and Farmington Hills hospitals. People with symptoms have to call the hotline or their doctor before trying to get screened.
Beaumont Health is already processing a limited number of COVID-19 tests in its own laboratory.
Beaumont over a period of several days developed a way to process its own tests, a move that usually takes months.
“However, we must conserve out testing supplies,” Dr. Barbara Ducatman, chief of pathology and laboratory medicine for Beaumont Health, said in a statement. “That’s why we’re only processing our own tests for certain patients who meet COVID-19 testing criteria and are admitted to our hospitals or are receiving treatment in one of our emergency centers.”
Beaumont increased staffing for its hotline because of the increased
number of calls it receives.
“A lot of people now are worried if they have been in contact with someone with coronavirus,” Skrzynski said. “Currently, we are not testing people who are not symptomatic.”
Many things are in flux, locally and nationally, he added.
“It’s a very difficult situation right now,” he said. “Nationwide we are still building out all our resources. We expect testing to improve and we are working to increase capacity for critically ill patients and secure protective equipment for healthcare workers.”
Complicating the issue is that it is still flu season and people continue to have more common – and less fatal – forms of flu making the rounds.
People ill with fever and other symptoms are advised to treat those symptoms without hospitalization unless respiratory problems become too severe.
“If you feel you need medical attention, come into the emergency room,” Skrzynski said. “At the same time, we kind of rely on people to use their own judgment on what they can handle at home.”