Carilion Clinic’s emergency department is seeing far fewer patients than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. And in many cases, it appears to be patients with serious health problems choosing to avoid care over COVID concerns. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
NEWS RELEASE: They say that every cloud has a silver lining. As we all huddle together under the shadow of COVID-19, one silver lining is notable: fewer people are rushing on the roads from place to place, so emergency departments (EDs) across the country have seen a significant decrease in major traumatic injuries.
Level 1 Trauma Centers like Carilion Clinic see any reduction in the need for trauma care as a good thing.
At the same time, however, EDs are also seeing a decrease in people coming in with the kinds of medical emergencies that can’t be treated properly anywhere else. And that has medical experts concerned. It makes sense that COVID-19 is affecting the number of traumatic injuries that we see. But heart attacks and stroke don’t decrease in challenging times.
Click here for Carilion’s full web page on this subject.
