Bon Secours RGH EMS Message for Covid 19 pandemic

Greetings,

This information is intended for EMS agency use only.  Please notify you membership of these changes at our facilities. 

As we all continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, here are some changes that affect EMS at our facilities:

Please “pre-alert” for any suspected COVID-19 case.  It is important that any patient that screens positive during the 911 call or during an EMS assessment should generate an early pre-alert notification to our ED by phone stating that you have a “Patient with positive screening for Coronavirus and the crew is wearing full PPE.”  Please place a surgical mask on the patient as soon as possible. 

We recommended that if the patient requires oxygen via nasal cannula or non-rebreather mask, to still cover the face and oxygen delivery device with a surgical mask to minimize droplet spread.

Hospital visitor access is being restricted across the entire Bon Secours Richmond Health System.

The visitor or accompanying family members of patients that arrive by EMS are being limited at our facilities.  Please be flexible and understand the policies at Bon Secours Mercy Health facilities are changing daily to maintain a high level of readiness and concern for the safety of our patients, visitors, and staff.

Rappahannock General Hospital –

EMS is directed to follow your agencies policies and the CDC recommendations for pre-screening, triage, and treatment of suspected patients that meet the CDC criteria. 

We encourage all EMS agencies to educate your EMS providers on CDC and VDH recommendations for COVID-19 infection control, provider safety, treatment, transportation, and decontamination procedures.  These items are important to limit exposure to the virus and protect patients, staff, and our first responders. 

As you are aware, many hospitals across Virginia have deployed medical tents in the last 48 hours to meet and comply with patient surge plans at their facilities.  Our recent training and deployment of our tent was timely.  RGH is working to maintain our proactive stance and has equipped our Base X tent in the event we will need to place it into service to meet the needs of our facility in screening high risk patients or addressing our surge plans for our facility.   

EMS crews that encounter a patient with a positive screening during 911 questioning and/or EMS patient assessment are asked to pre-alert our facility prior to leaving the scene using the EMS phone.  This pre-alert enables our staff time to implement procedures and be ready to receive these patients.  We request that EMS follow any instructions or changes to normal procedures based on the patients acuity prior to arrival.  All ambulances should park in the ambulance driveway away from the entrance to the ED.  The RGH Base X treatment tent, located near the Emergency Room entrance, may be utilized and is operationally ready to receive these patients for the required medical screening.

Memorial Regional Medical Center – The Emergency Department has created a “split flow process” for respiratory patients within the ED.  EMS Crews will be directed where to place their patient once they arrive in the ED.  MRMC is planning to set up a treatment tent for future potential patient surge purposes.  Memorial Regional is allowing only one family member to accompany patients into the Emergency Department.

We will communicate any changes to this plan as it evolves.

Thank you,

Your Bon Secours EMS Team

Gary W. Samuels MHR, NRP

EMS Outreach Coordinator

Bon Secours Health Systems

Rappahannock General and Mary Immaculate Hospitals

101 Harris Road Kilmarnock, Virginia 22482

Office – (804) 435-8333  Cell – (804) 572-5664

Gary_Samuels@bshsi.org