Beaufort Memorial Hospital to open drive-thru testing for coronavirus
Beaufort Memorial Hospital is opening a drive-thru testing facility and limiting one visitor per patient as four of its staff members remain in quarantine after coming in contact with two people who were possibly exposed to coronavirus.
Thirteen people tested positive for the coronavirus in the state as of Friday afternoon.
There were no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Beaufort County as of Friday afternoon, according to a S. C. Department of Health and Environmental Control email.
The Beaufort hospital is creating another emergency waiting room that will keep the sick separated from the well out of an “abundance of care,” the release says. The separate rooms will decrease the risk of exposure to all, it says.
Drive-Thru
The drive-thru will allow patients with a doctor’s order to have their specimen collected for COVID-19 testing quickly from the safety of their vehicle.
The site will open access to testing and mitigate potential community exposure to the virus, the hospital said.
It will be available 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
The drive-thru is located near the Beaufort Memorial Medical and Administrative Center at 990 Ribaut Road in Beaufort.
Patients with a physician order for testing will receive instructions for accessing the site and test.
Security staff will instruct patients to park in a designated area near the hospital’s mobile wellness unit to wait for clinical staff to collect their specimen and send it to the state lab for processing, the release says.
Following the collection, patients will return home to self-isolate while waiting for results from the ordering physician and/or a member of the hospital’s infection prevention team.
Visitor restrictions
On Wednesday, new restrictions were implemented for visitors at the hospital.
All patients, including pediatric, were allowed one adult visitor 18 or older.
Some units, such as labor and delivery and intensive care, could see further restrictions, a release says.
Anyone with flu-like symptoms are not allowed to visit patients.
Employees quarantined
The four Beaufort Memorial Hospital employees are in self-quarantine at home for up to 14 days after coming in contact with two people under investigation for possible COVID-19 exposure, hospital officials say.
“Our four employees are considered low-risk for COVID-19,” hospital President and CEO Russell Baxley said in the release. “However, testing for COVID-19 will be conducted by an authorized lab as a precaution.”
South Carolina’s DHEC has tested the two individuals who the staff came in contact with. The individuals are currently isolated.
Quarantine is used when patients have no symptoms but have been exposed or to protect against exposure. Isolation is used when patients are ill and could have been exposed.
“Out of an abundance of caution we are collecting samples from the four employees and will send them out for testing,” Courtney McDermott, hospital spokesperson, said via email.
The 197-bed hospital was seeing a steady stream of patients through the emergency room.
“We have not seen a spike in admissions at this time,” McDermott said said.
Video visits
Patients who are sick and concerned about COVID-19 can initiate a video visit with a provider using BMH Care Anywhere or MUSC Health Virtual Care.
To see a provider visit www.bmhcareanywhere.org or download the app in the App Store or Google Play.
Or visit MUSC Health Virtual Care at https://muscvirtualcare.zipnosis.com/login and use code COVID19 when you log in for a free visit.
Coronavirus questions?
For coronavirus-related information about what is happening around Beaufort County, visit The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette’s Virus Center here.
Do you have questions about the coronavirus? The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette will get the answers for you. Go to bit.ly/virusBeaufortCounty and let us know what you need to know.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 3:15 PM.