Anonymous
Source: Cottage Healthcare
To increase convenient access to healthcare, Cottage Health is introducing Cottage Urgent Care, for treatment of minor injuries and illnesses.
Cottage Urgent Care has plans to open 10 centers in the tri-counties region, with the first opening in summer of 2020. The centers will be in storefront locations — from Oxnard to San Luis Obispo — and will be open 365 days a year, 8am-8pm, to provide walk-in care for patients of all ages. Services will include X-ray, lab and medications.
The conveniently located Cottage Urgent Care centers will fill an important need for communities to quickly access care during extended hours. Access to care is an important priority in preventing a minor issue from becoming a more serious health concern.
Each Cottage Urgent Care Center will be staffed by a licensed nurse practitioner and patient concierge team members dedicated to assisting patients during their visit and ensuring an efficient and comfortable care environment. The goal is complete care within 30 minutes.
With two new care options — the recently launched Cottage CareNow virtual care service for online visits, and the soon-to-open Cottage Urgent Care centers — patients can quickly receive care or an appropriate referral. Both of these services can connect patients to local physicians for follow-up and preventive care to improve overall health.
These services enable Cottage Health to serve the community in new ways and remain forward-looking in adapting to current and future healthcare needs.
On another note: Monday, March 9th starts in earnest the distribution of 1 million test kits from the CDC to public clinics, to be used for the testing of COVID19 around the country. Also starting next week, Quest and Lab Corp. laboratories (both private entities) will make available test kits for private use at hospitals and doctors offices. This means the general public outside public health. So if a person has symptoms suggesting Corona, a doctor can refer, although, there will still be a limited availability of tests available. This is to be expected and no conern for panic as there are plenty of tests for the ones who need it even when it doesn’t match all people living locally. Of course, the goal is to focus on areas of outbreak (Such as Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco) so ramping up of kits is a priority, but one where prevention and contagion is more advanced. Which means, at this point we are entering the phase of mitigation. Testing does not cure. So we must do everything we can to prevent transmission. Social Distancing, Hand Washing, Effective Seclusion when sick, etc. So, knowing all this, what is Cottage Health doing in preparation of a possible and likely strain on the system? Beds, ICU beds, ventilators, staffing, etc. Is Cottage getting ahead of this? Gathering supplies? Buying more ventilators? Prepping facilities? Pushing out elective surgeries? The important thing here is doing what’s best for the local community in a way that is transparent without causing fear. Panic comes to those that wait till the last minute for things and then are confronted with an unexpected scenario. We can avoid this and be the most prepared community out there if our hospital is in front of supply shortages and eventual staffing strains. Let’s start talking so we can be ready and not rushed into last minute scenarios.
Thank you, 11:32, for the helpful + factual information
What facts? Here are facts: https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-says-will-fail-1m-goal-coronavirus-test-kits-2020-3
The BBC said Pence instead moved the goal to next week, when he predicted kits for 1.2 million people would be available.