FEATURED: DR. LIZ BALTARO '03 & EXEL ESTRADA '21

Student Has Close Up Experience During Early Days of COVID-19 Pandemic

By Brian Schuh '02

Dr. Liz Baltaro '03 & Exel Estrada '21

On the evening of March 11, Dr. Liz Baltaro ’03 reviewed her clinic schedule for the next day and wasn’t concerned about any patients presenting with COVID-19. What did catch her attention was a memo to healthcare providers from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services outlining new testing guidance for the rapidly emerging disease.

“Previously someone needed to have traveled to a high-risk area for COVID-19 and to present with symptoms to be considered for testing,” Liz says. “The guidelines then changed to only require symptoms, including cough, fever and shortness of breath, for testing.”

Liz set out early the next morning to her clinic with Exel Estrada ’21, who was along to shadow the Family Medicine Physician as he aspires to study medicine. Liz serves as Medical Director for two primary care clinics that are a part of Granville Health System based in Oxford, N.C. Both clinics are rural health centers (RHCs), which allow for special Medicaid reimbursement in medically underserved areas.

The shadow day quickly shifted when their second patient, a woman experiencing homelessness, unexpectedly came into the clinic. Liz says, “She presented with all of the symptoms needed for testing, and suddenly that’s when the reality of COVID-19 became apparent.” Liz and Exel quickly donned personal protective equipment while attending to the patient. An ambulance then transferred the patient to the hospital where she was admitted to the intensive care unit and diagnosed with pneumonia.

“I was quite concerned about what would happen to the patient as she appeared quite ill,” Exel recalls. “But I was also impressed by how professional Dr. Baltaro was and how she kept her focus on the patient during that encounter, even though there was much concern in the clinic. She showed me how a healthcare provider has to hold oneself in situations that are hard and unpredictable ”

For Liz, staying focused is natural. “A lot of people tell me I’m very grounded. I attribute that to my Quaker roots,” Liz says. “I feel like I can always center myself despite challenges to that with being a physician and a mother of three.”

That encounter with her first person under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19 spurred Liz to rapidly prepare her clinics. “I barely slept over the course of the next five days, working hard on protocols and preparedness,” Liz says.

As COVID-19 has settled onto the landscape, Liz reports challenges still facing physicians. But she did impress one future physician with her skills. “She’s definitely a great teacher and really took her time to explain things to me and her patients,” Exel says. Although it was not quite the shadow experience Liz envisioned for Exel, she says he remained professional, calm and collected, too. “He still says he wants to be a physician — even after seeing primary care amidst chaos — and that is a very promising sign,” Liz says.