Baptist Health’s Enhanced Safety Measures as Elective, Non-Urgent Services Reopen

As Baptist Health South Florida begins to reopen its facilities today for elective, non-urgent surgeries, endoscopies and interventional procedures, the safety of patients, caregivers and visitors is a top priority.

Enhanced protective measures, including mandatory face masks, social distancing guidelines, and entranceway screenings, will help keep everyone safe. Contact your doctor’s office for the status of any appointment that was scheduled before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in cancellations of elective, non-urgent surgeries and procedures.

The safety measures apply to all Baptist Health facilities,including hospitals, urgent care centers, endoscopy centers, and diagnosticimaging centers. See BaptistHealth’s website for locations and hours. Regularly scheduled appointmentswith Baptist Health Medical Group physicians are continuing as planned, thoughvisitor restrictions are in place. If you are worried, please contact yourdoctor to discuss concerns.

“We want people in our communities to know that Baptist Health has taken all the necessary precautionary actions to keep our patients, staff and visitors safe and healthy,” said Anexis Lopez, R.N, manager of Infection Control at Doctors Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida. “The steps we have taken are consistent with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Baptist Health is also working closely with local and state public health officials.”

When entering all Baptist Health facilities, patients,guests and caregivers will be provided with a new protective face mask, associal distancing guidelines remain in place throughout all facilities. “We’llask those entering our facilities to please wear the mask we provide during theentirety of their visit,” said Ms. Lopez.

The CDC states that “reopening America requires all ofus to move forward together by practicing social distancing and other dailyhabits to reduce our risk of exposure.” The CDC offers tipson how to protect yourself and others.

Here is a summary of safety measures that are being taken atall Baptist Health facilities:

Enhanced Screenings for Patients, Staff and Visitors

Baptist Health is screening patients and staff for COVID-19through daily body temperature, signs and symptoms checks, and by asking aseries of questions related to potential exposure to the novel coronavirus.

Universal Masks

Everyone who enters Baptist Health facilities will berequired to wear a mask which we will provide to all employees, medical staff,patients, visitors and vendors. We request that all personal masks be removedinside our facilities.

Infection Prevention

• Hand hygiene is always a priority for us. Handsanitizer and handwashing stations are available throughout our facilities, andwe encourage you and our caregivers to wash hands liberally.
• Baptist Health has removed frequently toucheditems such as magazines, toys, coffee and snacks.
• All facilities have instituted extradisinfection practices of the most frequently touched common areas ––– lightswitches, door handles, bathroom faucets and more.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

To ensure your safety and that of our caregivers, BaptistHealth has an adequate supply of PPE for all of our team members and medicalstaff, including masks, gloves, gowns and face shields. This helps protect youand our team from COVID-19 transmission.

Social Distancing

• Baptist Health is adhering to social distancingguidelines throughout all phases of care during your stay. Our lobbies andcommon areas are appropriately marked to identify areas where it is permissibleto sit and stand.
• Baptist Health invites you to wait where youfeel most comfortable. If you prefer to wait in your car, please feel free todo so and we will contact you when it is your turn.

Visitor Precautions
As an additional safety measure to reduce overall exposure, Baptist Healthwill continue to follow limited visitor guidelines. We are asking that only thepatient come inside the facility, with the exception of a parent that isaccompanying their minor child or other limited special circumstances.

COVID-19 Patient Isolation
A patient who is suspected or confi­rmed of being COVID-positive will beisolated in a dedicated area to avoid cross-contamination with other patients.We take every precaution that only limited caregivers with the proper personalprotective equipment (PPE) care for those patients in the designated areas.

Following Safety Protocols
Baptist Health is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and appropriate stateguidelines to keep you and our teams safe.