Safe Surgery At The Hospital, Even With COVID
Dr. Justin Sherfey, Medical Director of Orthopedics with Palmdale Regional Hospital, explains how the hospital is keeping surgical patients safe, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Featured Speaker:
Justin Sherfey, DO
Justin Sherfey, DO is an Orthopedic Surgeon and a member of the Medical Staff at Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Transcription:
Safe Surgery At The Hospital, Even With COVID
Introduction: Progressive, respectful, mentoring, compassionate. These are the values of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. And now we proudly present Palmdale Regional Radio. Here's Melanie Cole.
Melanie Cole: Welcome to Palmdale Regional Radio. I'm Melanie Cole, and today we're discussing safe surgery at the hospital, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Joining me is Dr. Justin Sherfey. He's the Medical Director in Orthopedics at Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Dr. Sherfey, it's a pleasure to have you join us again today. Tell us a little bit of how you and your team have been evolving care for your patients during this pandemic. What happened at the beginning? How did it change as we got into the height of things in the peak of things and what's going on now?
Dr. Sherfey: As everybody knows, this has been something that's been in a lot of transition from where we first started when this became widespread and everybody was reacting. So there was a lot of uncertainty and that led to a lot of very drastic measures. As far as stopping electric procedures, really shutting down a lot of the different things we offer at the hospital and in surgery in general, things just would come to a screeching stop initially, except for real emergent things. And then as we got better data on the viruses, as well as the response and what we can do to prevent the spread, it kind of settled down into, okay, here's how we handle it. We know how to handle infectious disease in a hospital. We've dealt with viruses and infections before. So what protocols, what can we do to ensure safety for not only the patient, but also the staff and the surgeon, etcetera. And so as that transitioned, we now had settled to where we are now, where we're resuming basically normal operations, as much as we can. However, with safety protocols in place that start with the staff at the hospital, start with the cleaning of the facilities and instruments, and then start with the screening of the patients to really just try to make this safe environment for everybody involved.
Host: Thank you for that, Dr. Sherfey So how have you been utilizing telehealth to bridge that gap for patients that have concerns or questions and how has this encouraged healthcare systems in your opinion, to be creative and innovative in their ability to deliver non-COVID care?
Dr. Sherfey: I think that it really brought tele-health to kind of the forefront. It was out there, it was being utilized, but obviously not to the extent it is now. Telehealth has allowed both the clinicians in the office to have an interaction with patients, to limit exposure, and be able to communicate with them, check on how they're doing and give them information. And then for the hospital itself, telehealth has allowed us to do some of the pre-education programs to give patients information regarding their surgery, or what's going to be required all remotely and has really limited the travel and exposure for both patients and staff. So it's been a really key instrument and a good tool that has come to the forefront and we're utilizing it more and more. This whole discussion, this whole topic came to my kind of forefront, obviously, as we all go through this, but I just kept having patients, even as things settled down and became more clear, continuing to be very fearful about having any surgical intervention. And they were approaching staff and other colleagues and saying, Oh, I don't know if I want to go to the hospital now, I don't know if I want anything done.
And they were sacrificing some of their health or their lifestyle or their wellbeing just because they were fearful of what was occurring. And we really try to reach out to them to tell them what we're doing for the safety and to get them a good feeling that they're going to be well taken care of and protected. And I tell my patients now that the hospital is probably one of the safest places you can go. We do screening from the minute people come in, there's temperature checks, questions on if they have any symptoms. Every patient in the hospital now is screened for COVID. Every surgical patient has to have a test that's negative within 72 hours. The cleaning protocols for the operating rooms and for the general facilities are higher than they've ever been. And so I tell people, when you go to the grocery store, you're going to have a higher risk of exposure then when you go to surgery, this is probably the cleanest, safest, most screenplays you can be at this time. And so this is why I think this discussion is really important.
Host: I couldn't agree with you more and I've heard the same things myself, Dr. Sherfey tell us a little bit for people that do need surgery, whether it's elective or not, because you mentioned that fear. Share with us what your protocol is now for those families that do have to come in and we've heard the terms negative and positive pressure rooms. We're hearing all of these things, fill us in on your protocol? And so that we can understand what you're doing to keep the hospital safe and clean and what you're doing to protect yourselves in surgery. Tell us about all that.
Dr. Sherfey: Sure. Initially just in general, the cleaning protocols hospital in the operating room always have strict cleaning protocols and sterilization protocols that are followed just at standards, just for general infection prevention. And so they were already high standards. And so that was really not much we had to change. We just really ensure that they were being followed. We ensure that there was extra cleaning of the rooms, extra sterilization of the instruments, just to really ensure that there was no breakdowns in what we're supposed to be doing to provide a safe environment. In addition to the operating rooms, add different air filtrations performed, different sterilization chemicals used again that were more viral specific to really help limit any potential exposure. And if we did have to operate on a positive COVID patient, then those were isolated into certain rooms that were not utilized for any other patients, the instruments, the gowns, all the equipment for that were isolated, and they're not cross-contaminated with other rooms or other instruments.
And so, we really had a pathway for those that need emergent surgery, but had a positive COVID test. And those who remain negative or more elective type surgeries. And so that was at the backend of everything going on behind the scenes. But as we see the patient, as we prepare them for surgery, particular elective surgery, we're going to have them do their normal medical screening, lab tests. But then, like I said, every hospital's a little different, but we have a protocol now where they have to have a negative COVID test. So we screen all patients that are being potentially scheduled for surgery within about 72 hours so that they have a negative COVID test. When they come in the actual day of surgery, we do the normal laboratory evaluations. We take their temperature, we screen them for symptoms again, to ensure they haven't had any recent exposures that put them or the staff at risk. And so we're just very diligent about taking all these steps to ensure there is really no exposure and no risk for these patients. I feel it's safer than it's ever been with what we're doing for surgery at this time.
Host: Well, that's really reassuring and I've even heard stories of people that wait several days before they come in, maybe to the emergency room for what might be a surgical issue. As we're wrapping up, what would you like patients and their families to know about the fact that it is safe? And you mentioned it that the hospital may be one of the safest places to be because of those protocols and what Palmdale Regional Medical Center is doing to keep the community safe and why this continuum of care and self advocacy in our healthcare system is so important right now?
Dr. Sherfey: Yeah, I would just like to let patients, let families know that Palmdale Hospital is taking every precaution they can, and they're going above and beyond the requirements from the health department and the CDC to ensure that when you come into the facility, you're going to not have exposure. You're going to be very safe. And if someone comes in who is positive or has had exposure, we're going to treat that appropriately. We're going to have correct isolation. We're going to have correct limited access. We have a COVID patients that we are treating and we are going to isolate them. We're going to screen them. We're going to separate them from the general population. And so it is very safe. And I just want to reassure patients, don't delay getting your needed treatment. The hospital is probably the safest place you can be, and we're taking steps everyday to ensure that.
Host: Thank you so much, Dr. Sherfey, that is really important information. And I'm so glad you joined us to tell the listeners really what Palmdale Regional Medical Center is doing to keep the community at large safe and that it is safe to go for procedures, whether they're elective or not. So not to hesitate, especially when it's emergent. To learn more about COVID related health concerns, please visit Palmdaleregional.com and click on the latest information link. That concludes this episode of Palmdale Regional Radio with Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and all the other Palmdale Regional Medical Center podcasts share this show with your friends and family. That way we're learning from the experts at Palmdale Regional together. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. I'm Melanie Cole.
Safe Surgery At The Hospital, Even With COVID
Introduction: Progressive, respectful, mentoring, compassionate. These are the values of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. And now we proudly present Palmdale Regional Radio. Here's Melanie Cole.
Melanie Cole: Welcome to Palmdale Regional Radio. I'm Melanie Cole, and today we're discussing safe surgery at the hospital, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Joining me is Dr. Justin Sherfey. He's the Medical Director in Orthopedics at Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Dr. Sherfey, it's a pleasure to have you join us again today. Tell us a little bit of how you and your team have been evolving care for your patients during this pandemic. What happened at the beginning? How did it change as we got into the height of things in the peak of things and what's going on now?
Dr. Sherfey: As everybody knows, this has been something that's been in a lot of transition from where we first started when this became widespread and everybody was reacting. So there was a lot of uncertainty and that led to a lot of very drastic measures. As far as stopping electric procedures, really shutting down a lot of the different things we offer at the hospital and in surgery in general, things just would come to a screeching stop initially, except for real emergent things. And then as we got better data on the viruses, as well as the response and what we can do to prevent the spread, it kind of settled down into, okay, here's how we handle it. We know how to handle infectious disease in a hospital. We've dealt with viruses and infections before. So what protocols, what can we do to ensure safety for not only the patient, but also the staff and the surgeon, etcetera. And so as that transitioned, we now had settled to where we are now, where we're resuming basically normal operations, as much as we can. However, with safety protocols in place that start with the staff at the hospital, start with the cleaning of the facilities and instruments, and then start with the screening of the patients to really just try to make this safe environment for everybody involved.
Host: Thank you for that, Dr. Sherfey So how have you been utilizing telehealth to bridge that gap for patients that have concerns or questions and how has this encouraged healthcare systems in your opinion, to be creative and innovative in their ability to deliver non-COVID care?
Dr. Sherfey: I think that it really brought tele-health to kind of the forefront. It was out there, it was being utilized, but obviously not to the extent it is now. Telehealth has allowed both the clinicians in the office to have an interaction with patients, to limit exposure, and be able to communicate with them, check on how they're doing and give them information. And then for the hospital itself, telehealth has allowed us to do some of the pre-education programs to give patients information regarding their surgery, or what's going to be required all remotely and has really limited the travel and exposure for both patients and staff. So it's been a really key instrument and a good tool that has come to the forefront and we're utilizing it more and more. This whole discussion, this whole topic came to my kind of forefront, obviously, as we all go through this, but I just kept having patients, even as things settled down and became more clear, continuing to be very fearful about having any surgical intervention. And they were approaching staff and other colleagues and saying, Oh, I don't know if I want to go to the hospital now, I don't know if I want anything done.
And they were sacrificing some of their health or their lifestyle or their wellbeing just because they were fearful of what was occurring. And we really try to reach out to them to tell them what we're doing for the safety and to get them a good feeling that they're going to be well taken care of and protected. And I tell my patients now that the hospital is probably one of the safest places you can go. We do screening from the minute people come in, there's temperature checks, questions on if they have any symptoms. Every patient in the hospital now is screened for COVID. Every surgical patient has to have a test that's negative within 72 hours. The cleaning protocols for the operating rooms and for the general facilities are higher than they've ever been. And so I tell people, when you go to the grocery store, you're going to have a higher risk of exposure then when you go to surgery, this is probably the cleanest, safest, most screenplays you can be at this time. And so this is why I think this discussion is really important.
Host: I couldn't agree with you more and I've heard the same things myself, Dr. Sherfey tell us a little bit for people that do need surgery, whether it's elective or not, because you mentioned that fear. Share with us what your protocol is now for those families that do have to come in and we've heard the terms negative and positive pressure rooms. We're hearing all of these things, fill us in on your protocol? And so that we can understand what you're doing to keep the hospital safe and clean and what you're doing to protect yourselves in surgery. Tell us about all that.
Dr. Sherfey: Sure. Initially just in general, the cleaning protocols hospital in the operating room always have strict cleaning protocols and sterilization protocols that are followed just at standards, just for general infection prevention. And so they were already high standards. And so that was really not much we had to change. We just really ensure that they were being followed. We ensure that there was extra cleaning of the rooms, extra sterilization of the instruments, just to really ensure that there was no breakdowns in what we're supposed to be doing to provide a safe environment. In addition to the operating rooms, add different air filtrations performed, different sterilization chemicals used again that were more viral specific to really help limit any potential exposure. And if we did have to operate on a positive COVID patient, then those were isolated into certain rooms that were not utilized for any other patients, the instruments, the gowns, all the equipment for that were isolated, and they're not cross-contaminated with other rooms or other instruments.
And so, we really had a pathway for those that need emergent surgery, but had a positive COVID test. And those who remain negative or more elective type surgeries. And so that was at the backend of everything going on behind the scenes. But as we see the patient, as we prepare them for surgery, particular elective surgery, we're going to have them do their normal medical screening, lab tests. But then, like I said, every hospital's a little different, but we have a protocol now where they have to have a negative COVID test. So we screen all patients that are being potentially scheduled for surgery within about 72 hours so that they have a negative COVID test. When they come in the actual day of surgery, we do the normal laboratory evaluations. We take their temperature, we screen them for symptoms again, to ensure they haven't had any recent exposures that put them or the staff at risk. And so we're just very diligent about taking all these steps to ensure there is really no exposure and no risk for these patients. I feel it's safer than it's ever been with what we're doing for surgery at this time.
Host: Well, that's really reassuring and I've even heard stories of people that wait several days before they come in, maybe to the emergency room for what might be a surgical issue. As we're wrapping up, what would you like patients and their families to know about the fact that it is safe? And you mentioned it that the hospital may be one of the safest places to be because of those protocols and what Palmdale Regional Medical Center is doing to keep the community safe and why this continuum of care and self advocacy in our healthcare system is so important right now?
Dr. Sherfey: Yeah, I would just like to let patients, let families know that Palmdale Hospital is taking every precaution they can, and they're going above and beyond the requirements from the health department and the CDC to ensure that when you come into the facility, you're going to not have exposure. You're going to be very safe. And if someone comes in who is positive or has had exposure, we're going to treat that appropriately. We're going to have correct isolation. We're going to have correct limited access. We have a COVID patients that we are treating and we are going to isolate them. We're going to screen them. We're going to separate them from the general population. And so it is very safe. And I just want to reassure patients, don't delay getting your needed treatment. The hospital is probably the safest place you can be, and we're taking steps everyday to ensure that.
Host: Thank you so much, Dr. Sherfey, that is really important information. And I'm so glad you joined us to tell the listeners really what Palmdale Regional Medical Center is doing to keep the community at large safe and that it is safe to go for procedures, whether they're elective or not. So not to hesitate, especially when it's emergent. To learn more about COVID related health concerns, please visit Palmdaleregional.com and click on the latest information link. That concludes this episode of Palmdale Regional Radio with Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and all the other Palmdale Regional Medical Center podcasts share this show with your friends and family. That way we're learning from the experts at Palmdale Regional together. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. I'm Melanie Cole.