COVID PROTOCOLS

We will be open for patient care with the following adjustments to workflow in place:

First, patients over 65 years old should limit their visits to acute medical conditions that cannot resolve via phone or serious chronic medical conditions such as hospital follow up for CHF, and call before hand to arrange a visit time that will ensure you have no contact with other patients.

​Patients with fever or symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as a cough and sore throat should call the clinic and speak with Dr. Littlejohn (you might have to wait for a call back) and the office staff to arrange a visit with no other patient contact or appropriate referral to a hospital emergency room.

For patients we deem appropriate to visit clinic with a respiratory infection, we will implement respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette (i.e., we will be placing a proper facemask over the patient’s nose and mouth if that has not already been done) and isolate the patient in an examination room.

Medically-stable patients after speaking with front desk via phone might opt to wait in a personal vehicle or outside of the clinic (there are tables and benches next to our back parking lot and none of the other businesses are currently open) where they can be contacted by mobile phone when it is their turn to be evaluated.

In addition:

– Our staff are disinfecting all patient rooms following visits.

– All waiting areas are disinfected hourly.

– Staff members are screened for infections daily.

– Gloves and mask will be worn as appropriate.

Dr. Littlejohn has something to say…

From Dr. Littlejohn:

To our patients,

My main goal is to do whatever is necessary to assure the continued and long term health of our patients by managing their current medical conditions to the best of my ability and referring to a specialist or hospitalist as appropriate. In the setting of COVID 19 this will prove to be challenging for all of us, patients and providers alike. That being said many of your conditions, diagnosed and undiagnosed, do need physician contact to manage. (ie… depression/anxiety with potential suicidal ideation, ruling out nerve impingement that could result in permanent damage, preventing CHF exacerbation resulting in hospitalization, following up on a cancer diagnosis, etc…) We do these things on a daily basis and need to balance the risk of this virus against the risk of not providing needed medical care. With the above hopefully we can minimize the risk of those that need to be seen. When I figure out my schedule then I will determine what care, when appropriate, can be done via phone or computer i.e. skype. (No Facetime I do not have an iPhone)

You know I care about you all and wish you the best during this challenging time,

Dr. Littlejohn