COVID-19 AND SURGERY INFORMATION
During the initial COVID pandemic shut down (March to May 2020) our surgeons and Mammoth Hospital staff continued to provide critical emergency surgical care to patients safely and effectively. Our experience with these patients has allowed us to make your scheduled surgery safe and successful as we have resumed resuming elective procedures. Ensuring your safety as a patient remains our primary concern. Additionally, it is critical that we protect the health and safety of our facility and our staff so that we may continue to provide the highest level of care to our community.
What precautions are taken to make sure the facility is safe?
- Mammoth Hospital follows extensive sterilization and sanitization procedures in line with both government and industry recommendations. Our facility has a high air flow and sanitization rate in the operating rooms, which helps to decrease potential disease transmission.
- Case volumes are managed in order to minimize overlap of patients in the preoperative and postoperative care areas.
- Operating room staff and doctors are screened daily, and testing is initiated as necessary based on established criteria.
- We have placed limitations on visitors to limit traffic and exposures, and social distancing is practiced in all waiting areas.
- All of our staff wear face coverings or masks in all areas of the hospital at all times. We ask that patients follow our policies to reduce the risk of spread of the disease which could result in cancellations of surgery or limitation of services. We appreciate your understanding and assistance in this matter.
If I am having surgery, will I require screening and/or testing?
This is a constantly changing decision based on a variety of factors including: the availability of testing, the length of time required to receive testing results, and the number of cases in the community among other variables.
Screening of all patients having surgery will be required to make sure you have had no known exposure to COVID-19 and you have had no symptoms consistent with the disease. If there are concerns, your surgery may be delayed or rescheduled and you may require testing. Testing involves a swab of your nose or mouth which is sent to a lab to test for the presence of the virus.
No test or screening in 100% accurate, so you may be screened or tested more than once based on specific circumstances.
When will screening and/or testing take place?
Screening will take place over the phone in the days leading up to your surgery as well as the day of your surgery upon entering the building. This means you will be evaluated for symptoms and findings consistent with COVID-19 disease. This is in the form of questions to make sure you have no history of symptoms to indicate you are actively sick. In addition to the questions, your temperature will be checked prior to entering the facility.
We will be testing for COVID-19 on the day of your surgery for contact tracking. Testing means you will have a physical test to make sure you are not ill with the virus. A sample is taken from your nasal passage or your saliva and sent to a laboratory for testing. You will be contacted with the results, if positive, once received from the lab.
If my surgery is postponed, how long do I have to wait to be rescheduled?
Your surgery can be rescheduled once you are symptom-free and your virus test is negative or after 2 weeks period. These decisions are also made on a case-by-case basis and will be done in consultation with your surgeon and the Mammoth Hospital team.
If I am having surgery at a hospital, will I be in an area close to where patients have COVID-19?
At Mammoth Hospital, during the first several months of the pandemic, extensive planning and work was done to create a “COVID capable” hospital. This means that the hospital is capable of caring for patients with COVID-19 as well as non-COVID patients to ensure that we can continue to care for our whole community. Because of this, patients who are at risk of COVID-19 or are under testing are isolated to a separate area in the hospital away from patients undergoing elective procedures.
What can I do at home before and after surgery to decrease my risk of contracting the virus?
It is important to take precautions against the spread of COVID-19 disease both before and after surgery. Avoid crowds, maintain social distancing, practice good hygiene, and try to avoid close contact with friends or family members who work in areas where they may be exposed to the virus.
What happens to me if I develop symptoms of COVID- 19 after my surgery?
If you develop symptoms after your surgical procedure, please contact us immediately so that we may perform contact tracing. This will allow us to screen and test anyone who may have had potential exposure and arrange for testing of you and your contacts. This is critical to stopping the spread of the virus and keeping our facility safe and open for continued surgical and medical care to our local community.
Thank you for trusting your health and well-being to Mammoth Hospital. Together we will become stronger and healthier as we navigate these unprecedented times!
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