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LEGEND PLUMBING & ROOTER
THURSDAY Volume 55, Number 059
LIC# ML16126
830.303.3335
The Voice of Seguin Today
830-379-2234
Local docs working to keep community safe Group of doctors meet to help reassure public during pandemic
Dr. Linda Sullivan conducts a COVID-19 test on one of her patients By Darren Dunn (Seguin) -- The local medical community is coming together to make sure that it provides the best care and treatment for patients during this
COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 25 local physicians conducted a cyber meeting this week. The group of doctors wanted to come together to make sure they were speaking with one voice when it came to engaging
the public. They also wanted to be able have shifted sick-visits to either the to reassure the public that they were in morning or the afternoon, trying to good hands. keep well-visits and sick-visits separate. Some of us are testing for Dr. Linda Sullivan, DO, of Live Oak COVID-19, and also for a variety of Family Health, says doctors here in the other common seasonal illnesses," said Seguin area have all been well Dr. Sullivan. prepared for this virus. She says most of them started making changes at Dr. Sullivan says it's important for their offices three weeks ago. patients to stay in contact with their doctor. She says if there's a problem, "We have been restructuring the whole then they want to know about it. She way we do things. We are shifting as adds that it's a way for them to make much of our schedule as possible to sure that their patients get the best and tele-medicine. Not everybody has the most appropriate care. capability, but many of us do, and this is designed to help people stay home, "One of our big concerns is that we especially our older patients that we don't want the ER to become don't really want getting out. This is overwhelmed when we have a lot of used mostly for follow-up sick people. So we are doing our best appointments, going over labs (and) to be kind of a conduit. We want medication refills. Kind of, simple patients to come to us first. Call us. things that we can do over the phone or Reach out through their (patient) on a tele-visit," said Dr. Sullivan. portals, and get information on what's the best way to proceed if they are not The novel coronavirus that causes the acutely ill," said Dr. Sullivan. COVID-19 illness can spread easily. Dr. Sullivan says that's one of the The doctors at the meeting all felt it reasons why they changed their was important to reach out to the approach to how and when they see community at this time. This is a patients in a clinical setting. critical time in the fight against the spread of the virus. Dr. Sullivan says "Most of us try to keep folks out of our they need the public's help fighting this waiting rooms as much as possible, disease. She says the best thing that because sick people congregating is people can do right now is stay at how this disease spreads. So they may home. see changes in protocols, (like) calling the office when you arrive and then "I think the biggest message is the being let in one at a time. Some people simplest message, and that is to really
practice social distancing. I think that when it all comes down to it, we don't have anything more powerful than staying home and keeping our distance from others right now. The disease is spread through droplets, meaning if you sneeze on someone or if you cough, but it's also spread by contact - when you touch something that someone else has touched. That's why it's so critically important for people to stay home," said Dr. Sullivan. There's no shelter in place order in Seguin or Guadalupe County, so people who feel well are still, in some cases, going on with their regular lives. Dr. Sullivan says it's important to try to stay in, if you can. She says one of the many challenges with COVID-19 is that people can have the virus and not realize it. "You can actually be infected with this disease and be completely symptomfree for up to 14 days. During that time, you're still shedding the virus. I think there's a lot of misconceptions about -- 'well, if I don't feel bad, then I can go out and hang out with my friends, because I'm not sick.' That's not true with this one. It's very highly contagious and easily spread even if among people who aren't sick, or maybe who just think that they have allergies or something like that," said Sullivan.
See SAFE, page 2