Arissa Viering | 7/10/2020 | Goodday Mineral Wells | COVID-19 Updates
Mineral Wells, TX – Dr. George Thomas, MD, Hospitalist for Palo Pinto General Hospital (PPGH), held a public discussion on Facebook Live to educate the Mineral Wells community further about COVID-19 on 7/10/2020.
Dr. Thomas recalled his first conversations about COVID-19 at PPGH. On March 2nd, Dr. Thomas had just returned to work when he remembered hearing whispers of a patient who needed testing for COVID-19.
“I remember thinking that morning: ‘How in the world did COVID-19 possibly make it to Mineral Wells?’ “
Only four months later, PPGH has performed 1,300 tests for COVID-19 with eighty-two (total) testing positive. During the live discussion, Dr. Thomas acknowledged the loss of two lives due to COVID-19 within the local community. He began to discuss how PPGH took action to combat COVID-19:
“This was really kind of a perfect storm with how quickly everything happened.”
Within hours of hearing about COVID-19, PPGH became one of the first hospitals in the state to create a COVID-19 hotline staffed with licensed nurse practitioners. These practitioners would not only perform screenings over the phone, but would also aid in alleviating fears within the community.
“We made it our goal at PPGH to really understand this disease.”
“There’s a lot of evidence-based medicine that is being practiced to ultimately benefit the community . . . With COVID-19, a lot of that sort of went out the window because of how quickly this new disease process emerged. It was basically a completely new viral disease. What we had to do was create some degree of evidence-based recommendations and mitigation strategies to not only help the communication, but also try to prevent a fatal, viral pandemic from taking hold.”
Dr. Thomas covered several important topics about COVID-19: virology, comprehension of Coronavirus, viral shedding versus viral load, transmission of COVID-19, and more. He took great care to discuss the intricate process of contact tracing conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and reviewed the Texas Department of State Health Services’ “Non-Test-Based Strategy for Releasing Cases From Home Isolation and Contacts from Quarantine” which can be downloaded below:
“Elderly people are very prone to getting sick from covid 19: that is very true.”
Dr. Thomas presented a listing of those at increased risk of severe complications or death secondary to COVID-19 infection:
- Individuals that are 65 years and older
- Those with Chronic Kidney Disease, COPD, Sickle Cell Disease, or Type II Diabetes
- Individuals with serious heart conditions
- Immunocompromised individuals
Furthermore, Dr. Thomas listed several precautionary measures that may be taken against COVID-19:
- Avoid close contact.
- Stay at least six feet (two arm-lengths) apart from others.
- Wash your hands often.
- Avoid toughing your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth face cover when around others.
- Cover coughs and sneezes.
- Clean and disinfect.
- Monitor your health daily.
Dr. Thomas addressed various questions from the public during the video and provided in-depth explanations to aid in educating the community. To watch the full Facebook Live video, see the below:
“We’re here to help the community. We’re here to help the people of Palo Pinto County.”
Dr. Thomas, PPGH
Former Co-Founder | June 2020-Nov 2020 | Graduate of Texas Christian University with a background in medical anthropology, psychology, and creative writing. Passionate about writing novels. Loved the Mineral Wells community and all that it had offered her and her family.
