PAT IE N T C A R E
When the World Paused, Moran Didn’t Amid the pandemic shutdown, Moran physicians found safe ways to continue providing urgent care and understanding for patients in danger of losing sight. Every four weeks for the past decade, 80-year-old Kay Lipman has traveled from her home in Ogden to the Moran Eye Center’s University of Utah campus location to receive sight-preserving injections for her age-related macular degeneration (AMD). When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Lipman worried about her health. She was at a higher risk for COVID-19 due to her age, but she also knew AMD could rapidly blind her if left unchecked. Would her treatments be interrupted? If not, what types of safety precautions would the clinic be taking? Her questions echoed those of millions of people nationwide facing progressive vision loss due to AMD, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and other conditions requiring ongoing treatments but concerned about potential virus exposure. While the pandemic temporarily halted routine exams and surgeries, Moran Eye Center physicians let patients like Lipman know they were ready to continue providing essential, urgent treatments—with extra safety precautions. “By restricting the number of patients and staff in the building at one time and by screening everyone for symptoms of COVID-19, including taking staff and patient temperatures, we were able to provide uninterrupted care for these patients and meet urgent eye care needs,” said Norm Zabriskie, MD, Moran’s director of clinical operations.
Lanny McLean, of Sun Valley, Idaho, continued driving to Moran every six to eight weeks in 2020 during the pandemic for critical treatment for his age-related macular degeneration.
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The Moran Eye Center enacted immediate patient safety measures when COVID-19 emerged as a pandemic. Those included: Temperature checks and screening questions at entrances. Mask requirement for everyone in the building. Physical distancing in waiting rooms and lobby areas. Hand sanitizer and masks available for patients. Limited visitor policy. Enhanced cleaning procedures for exam rooms and common areas.
