March 26, 2020 Update: Acting out of an abundance of caution we have cancelled all in person office visits until April 6, 2020. Your health and safety is our first concern. The COVID virus may not have affected you personally right now, but it most likely will. We must protect our staff and patients during this highly infectious stage of the Coronavirus. Too many of our patients are at a high risk for a variety or reasons, and this is one of the reasons why I have chosen to change our operations. Again, I'm doing this out out of an abundance of caution.
We are still available for you as this is our top priority.We are still answering the phone and scheduling visits with all five of our medical providers. These visits will be online or by telephone. If you are unable to schedule a virtual online visit with us we return your calls as soon as we can.. You can also schedule your own telemedical visit without calling using our patient portal. It's downloadable and the app is called HEALOW.
You can help us out by not calling right now if it's a routine matter. Please have refills sent electronically through your pharmacist. Please call during business hours and not after unless it's urgent. We are working beyond our capacity and need our rest when we can get it. We are following our patients of concern with daily telephone calls. We want to keep our patients out of the hospitals unless it's absolutely necessary.
I also want to address a question that has come up often to me. If a person has had contact (second generation) to person that has had contact (first generation) to a person that acquired COVID; what should they do? Both generation contacts are feeling fine. The first generation contact needs to self quarantine themselves for 14 days after the last date of contact with the infected person. The second generation contact needs to practice social distancing (6 or more feet away from) anyone. In fact, everyone needs to take this social distancing very seriously, regardless of a known contact or not. PLEASE. Both first and second generation contacts need to check their temperatures twice a day and report fevers to their doctor. We are still providing scheduled drive by COVID testing for our patients only after the decision to do this is made with our medical provider. Testing with a prescription from a doctor has started at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. Call 313-230-0505 for more information on that.
I am very proud of our Be Well Medical Center Staff. They are working during these difficult times as a great team with a terrific attitude of service above self. To Your Good Health…We Remain.
March 23, 2020. We are suspending evening clinic until further notice. To serve you better and keep you safe we are transitioning as many visits as appropriate to telemedical visits from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. Monday through Thursday. We will be open Friday and Saturday mornings. If you have not already done so, patients should download the Healow app from the app store to communicate with us electronically.
We will inform you if you need to be seen at our clinic on the telemedical visit. Most insurances are covering telemedical visits, although there is a possibility you may be charged for them. We may have you do a drive through COVID-19 culture or refer you to an MHP clinic to have that done. Please keep non-essential telephone calls to us at a minimum. We are refilling most medications without requiring you to come to the office. Routine refills should go through your pharmacist to us electronically.
These are tough times and we will get through this. What we need right now is COMPASSION, KINDNESS, GENTILITY, PATIENCE, AND SMILES. Hugs will have to wait! I am very proud of our Be Well Medical Center Staff. They are working during these difficult times as a great team with a terrific attitude of service above self. To Your Good Health…We Remain. Please scroll down to read more.
Taking care of our patients is at the center of everything we do. We value the trust you place in us every day. We take this responsibility seriously, so I want to share with you some of the steps we are taking for you and our Be Well Medical team.
In addition to sanitizing exam rooms in between each patient, we are sanitizing all countertops, knobs, bathrooms, keyboards, and other frequently touched surfaces every other hour or more often as we see fit. This include the phlebotomy lab and pharmacy.
Because every patient encounter is unique, individual care decisions require independent medical judgement. We ask all patients with symptoms of the flu or uncertainty of a viral infection, to let us know before coming to the office. We may be asking you to enter our office through a private entrance in the back of the building and avoid using the reception room. We might place you in a negative air pressure exam room to minimize exposure to others.
Our telephone call volume is tremendous. We are requesting if you need to talk to a Provider, try to schedule a telemedical visit using our Healow portal or call the receptionist to assist you with this. We are designating a Provider to be available quickly for telemedical visits. This method can reduce unnecessary visits to the office and we are pleased to offer you this virtual care. Also, for routine refill requests, please go through your pharmacy to request this electronically. Reducing telephone traffic will help us tremendously to better serve you.
Masks are available to those who require it.
Deferral of routine medical visits and wellness exams should be considered for patients with any chronic condition or being over the age of 60. Due to uncertainty, this includes individuals living with HIV.
Use good hygiene practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases
Learn about the signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Not everyone requires testing for this virus.
The first line of defense is to stay healthy. You can boost your immune system by eating nutritiously, exercising, and getting enough sleep. Please refer to our podcast on “Why We Sleep” to discover sleep’s benefits that can be found on our website www.doctorbewell.com
Supplements such as multiple vitamins, turmeric, CBD, or Riboceine may be of benefit to boost your immune system. There may also be some benefit from reducing carbohydrates.
STAY HOME IF YOU ARE SICK, and advise others to do the same.
Communicate and reinforce best practices for covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.Avoid large gatherings.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
Communicate and reinforce best practices for washing hands. Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and warm water are not available.You can make your own by using 2 parts 99% rubbing alcohol with 1part gel.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces (computers, keyboards, desks, etc.). You can make your own disinfectant using ¾ cup of household bleach to 1 gallon of water.
Implement social distancing measures as feasible, it’s not a good time to meet people found on social media. Substitute elbow taps or winks for handshakes.
Now is not the time to panic. A public health nurse friend of ours provided me with the following link that puts COVID-19 in perspective. It is https://youtu.be/6dDD2tHWWnU. We encourage you to monitor the CDC website https://www.cdc.govfor additional information as this rapidly developing public health matter changes.
The entire staff of the Be Well Medical Center is centered around enriching lives and keeping our community healthy. Thank you for your continued trust. Paul Benson, D.O.