Yes! Hospitals Are Safe: Please Seek Help If You Need It
The answer is: Yes! Hospitals are safe, even in a pandemic. If you need help, please do not be afraid to utilize your local hospital services. We are here to help. And we offer a very safe environment, even during this pandemic.
Hospitals are safe!
I am a respiratory therapist. I work for a small-town hospital. I have been working on the front lines with COVID patients since the beginning of the pandemic and I feel safe. Non-COVID patients are in my care and they feel safe. I want you to know you can feel safe too.
There is a reason I say this. I know that some people need our services but they stay home because they are afraid. I have read your comments and received emails.
"Please don't go to hospitals. It's unsafe?" one person said. "Are hospitals safe in this COVID environment?" another person said.
Yes! Hospitals are safe. I assure you, and studies confirm so.
Research on the topic
One such study was published in September of 2020 after 12 weeks of research. Researchers followed 9,149 patients admitted to a large hospital. During the course of the entire study, only two of those patients contacted COVID-19 while admitted. It is possible that neither of those two people contacted COVID-19 as a result of the care they received in the hospital setting.1
The authors of the study noted that one was infected by a spouse who did not know she was COVID positive. And, of course, this event occurred before the hospital had visitor restrictions. The other was diagnosed as COVID positive four days after she was discharged. In that case, the patient had been admitted for 16 days, but there were no known COVID exposures while she was admitted.1
Studies like this confirm why hospitals are safe. In fact, they may even be safer now than when this study took place, and there is a good reason for this.
Why are hospitals safe?
Hospitals have people in charge of infection control who ensure a safe environment. They make sure that all patients are not exposed to harmful pathogens. One way of accomplishing this is by screening every person who enters the hospital for COVID. Another is by making everyone - staff and visitors - wear a mask at all times.
Hospitals also have a great cleaning crew. They make sure everything stays wiped down, clean, and sanitized. This includes the floors, walls, and everything. Between patients, everything is wiped down and cleaned. Even while you are there, things will be wiped down and cleaned. This is a great infection control policy.
So, come to a hospital if you need us. Come by car, or come by ambulance which is also safe. EMTs and paramedics, like us, don proper PPE. They wash their rigs and their hands. They will keep you safe.
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