Benson Health finds new ways to deliver quality patient care

By William Massengill

COVID-19 has brought a lot of disruption to healthcare. But that disruption has created some new ways of delivering patient care, which are having positive outcomes for patients.

At Benson Health, we have felt that pressure to adapt. Early on in this pandemic, we implemented a drive-up clinic, where we not only provided COVID-19 testing, but also treated patients with any respiratory problems or COVID-19 symptoms.

This change has provided access to medical care and testing while protecting our patients and staff from potential infection. Telehealth services have been discussed for several years but they were not widely reimbursed by many insurers prior to this pandemic.

Today, those services are reimbursed thanks to changes by insurance companies and legislation in Congress. This allows patients to reduce their risk of exposure to infection while being a great resource for patients with mobility and transportation issues.

Flu vaccinations are always important and especially this year. Benson Health will be implementing a drive-up flu shot clinic for our patients. Patients will never leave their car to get a flu shot. Again, this new way of doing things will reduce exposure to our patients while providing a resource that particularly benefits older patients who have problems getting from their car into our medical facility.

For the past 14 years, Benson Health has provided primary care for our area farmworkers with a Thursday evening clinic. This year, with funding from a charitable foundation, we have been able to take that clinic to the workers. This change addresses the issue of the exposure of multiple people in a single vehicle during this pandemic while providing for COVID-19 testing and primary care services to a population that is vital to the agricultural economy of Johnston County and the surrounding area.

There are other ways in which various healthcare providers are bringing innovation to the way they deliver patient care and I have only addressed a few. While disruption is painful, let’s hope that we take some lessons learned from this ordeal and that it improves the delivery of health care long past the time when this pandemic is over.

William W. Massengill, Jr. (MSW, MBA) is the CEO of Benson Health. To learn more about the organization, visit www.bensonmedical.org.