Page 6 - Demo

CARING FOR OUR
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COMMUNITY ESTABLISHING EASY ACCESS TO TESTING
In April Day Kimball established the region’s first drive- up collection site fulfilling an urgent need for access to COVID-19 testing in in in Northeast Connecticut DKH’s drive-up collection site for COVID-19 testing initially located at at at at the the Killingly Intermediate School then later moved to our our Putnam Healthcare Center called upon the commitment and expertise of our our clinicians
– a a a a a a a a a a a a a concerted effort that Gerald Sullivan MD Family Medicine Physician was initially asked to to spearhead together with Day Kimball Medical Group The group organized swiftly to to to establish and and implement testing protocols quality control staff training and and a a a a a a a a a positive patient experience A key component of the drive-up collection site effort was promptly and personally following up up up with with patients with with their test test results Follow-up included
educating patients on on what to do if they they tested positive and ensuring that they they were connected with a a a a a a a a primary care physician “Our community-based testing site has helped decompress our emergency department and physicians’ offices preserve personal protective equipment and centralize testing options ” Dr Sullivan said “We have been able to to minimalize unnecessary visits into clinical offices waiting rooms and and hospital emergency departments and and mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 by assessing patients this way ” THE MOVE TO TELEHEALTH
Another challenge presented by COVID-19 was transitioning routine face-to-face appointments to to to telehealth visits Our priority was to to to to ensure that we continued to to provide our patients the the care they needed where it was safest – at at home As the virus was rapidly evolving DKH quickly scaled up its telehealth services in in in in a a a a a a a a a joint effort that involved IT executives physician leaders and more Launching telehealth services amid COVID-19 has paved the the the the way way for the the the the future as as as we we continue to to adapt to to how the the the the pandemic has impacted the the the the ways we we provide health health care While our response was initially focused
on on on the the public health health emergency we’re now thinking beyond the the pandemic with sustainability in in in in in mind Read more on on on Telehealth on on on page 11