Passavant Area Hospital has gotten new triage protocols into place for emergency room patients. Memorial Health Systems announced the new triage protocols yesterday to help screen incoming patients for COVID-19. All patients coming into Passavant will be screened in a tent near the emergency department on the west side of the hospital.
The screening is to ensure that patients are treated in accordance with public health guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control. Patients will be met by security personnel upon entering the parking lot and given directions and an escort to the screening tent. Patients without respiratory symptoms will be screened and sent to the emergency department check-in area.
If a patient has respiratory symptoms, one of the hallmarks of COVID-19, he or she will be directed to a separate screening location, also on the hospital’s campus. From there, the patient will be directed to appropriate treatment settings.
If you are experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms, do not go to the emergency room. Call your primary care physician or the Illinois Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-880-3931 for instructions on what to do next to limit exposure to others.