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/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2022, ED

Navigating the Renovation

A major renovation and expansion of the Emergency Department and Main Entrance has required that we reroute patient traffic to a new temporary entrance called the Canopy Entrance. Follow along with the photos and descriptions below for a guided tour of how to enter the hospital.

After having pulled onto the Hospital Campus from Dewey Street, notice the parking lot to the left. It is marked with a “P” for parking. Pull in there and park.

 

The same parking lot can also be accessed from the Monument Ave. Extension entrance to the Hospital Campus. It is on the right.

 

The parking lot includes a shelter to wait for the campus shuttle. The shuttle runs 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday – Saturday. If you like, you can also walk to the Canopy Entrance.

 

To walk from the parking lot, follow the signs to the crosswalk. This is the first of two road crossings.

 

Signs continue to point the way. Note that the ambulance is for ambulance traffic only. Pedestrians must stay on pedestrian walkways.

 

 After a short distance, there is the second of two road crossings.

 

Once you have crossed the street, follow the path and fencing to the large canopy.

 

As you approach, you will see that masks are required.

 

If you took the shuttle, this is where it drops you off.

 

At the base of a ramp and once you reach inside, you will find friendly and helpful staff to guide the way or assist you with a wheel chair. 

 

Ascend the ramp on foot or with the assistance of a wheel chair and attendant.

 

Once inside, signs point the way to the service you need. Friendly staff members are available to check you in and provide assistance navigating. 

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Cautious Entertaining

After almost 3 months of staying home and with the weather getting nicer, many of us are itching to invite friends over and catch up. While this is a natural inclination, it should be approached with significant caution. COVID-19 is still circulating. If you are planning to host, follow these helpful tips for a safe gathering at your home.

Keep the numbers small. Invite as few people as possible. One-on-one meetings are safer than group gatherings. The recommendations from Vermont Governor Phil Scott recommend 25 or fewer. I would still aim for fewer than 10, especially depending on the size of your entertaining space.

Choose invitees carefully. You should know almost everything about the socializing habits of the people you are inviting. Your guests should be as careful in their social interactions as you are in yours. You should also trust that your guests would be cancel if they were feeling ill, as should you if you are suddenly symptomatic. Those at high risk, due to age or a medical condition, should be very careful about hosting or accepting invitations.

Stay outside. Outdoor air movement disperses aerosolized particles more readily than indoor environments. And plenty of space outside allows guests to stay distanced. UV light, like the rays found in sunshine, may also provide some small benefit. It has been shown to decrease the viability of the virus on objects, but it is not yet clear how intense the light must be and for how long the object needs to be exposed in order to kill the virus.

Keep it short. Duration of exposure to others has been identified as a key risk factor. The longer you are near someone shedding the virus, even if they don't have symptoms, the greater your likelihood of catching it yourself. While it is awkward to say that you are inviting people over for a 10-minute chat in the driveway, this is certainly among the lowest-risk types of socializing.

Clean beforehand. If you expect guests to touch anything, the arms of patio chairs, for instance, wipe them down in advance. Ask everyone to sanitize or wash their hands as they arrive, if they touch their face, and about every hour or so.

Stay distanced and masked. People standing tend to drift. Place chairs 6 feet apart so that people will be more likely to stay apart. Unless you are eating, keep your masks on. Share this expectation in advance, so your guests bring their masks with them.

Limit contact points. If you are preparing food, be sure to wash well before cooking and ensure everyone has a portion of his or her own. Forget about platters of vegetables or bowls of chips everyone shares and even buffets, where people share spoons and tongs.

Clean after. Wipe down anything your guests may have touched after they leave.

Keep track. Be sure to take note of who was there, the date of the social event, and each guest's contact details. If any one of the attendees becomes ill with COVID-19 or learns that they may have been exposed at the time of the event, they will be able to reach out directly to the others and to share information readily with contact tracers.

With these tips, you can host a relatively safe get-together and relieve some of the social isolation of the past several weeks. Do know, however, that no party—regardless of how careful—is risk free. Weigh the risks, decrease those you can, and then, try to have fun.

Donna Barron, RN, is the infection preventionist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

 

 

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