Part 1 in a series.
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow in the State of Mississippi and across the country, healthcare workers have labored on the frontline of the pandemic. While many of those infected are hospitalized based on individual severity of the virus, most have or are currently recovering at home.
In Montgomery and Carroll counties, as well as three other surrounding counties, a specialized team of nurses and therapists have been caring for COVID-19 patients in their homes since the first cases were diagnosed locally.
In response to the growing pandemic of the coronavirus in the state and nationwide, Sta-Home, owned by Texas-based AccentCare, created COVID Response Teams, highly-trained groups of home health workers focused entirely on caring for its patients infected with the coronavirus.
“With AccentCare, we got a head start on [COVID-19],” said Laura Wood, executive director of Sta-Home for the region including Carroll, Montgomery, Grenada, Yalabusha, and Tallahatchie counties. “Creating a COVID response team allows us to have certain nurses and therapists focused on COVID patients while limiting exposure to our other patients and staff.”
Wood said a team of six registered nurses, one licensed practical nurse, and one physical therapist specializes in caring only for COVID patients in the region.
“This is a voluntary program,” Wood said. “We have a great team. I’ve had to turn people away. Everyone wants to be an expert on this, and everyone wants to impact this in a positive way.”
The COVID team received specialized training through AccentCare and follows the strictest guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control to help prevent a patient from spreading the virus to other people living inside the home as well as members of the team.
“We have an excellent group of educators,” Wood said. “They created best practices and a plan of care around the [CDC] guidelines.”
Wood explained when a nurse visits a COVID patient, all equipment needed to care for that patient stays in the home to prevent cross-contamination. They also educate the entire household in preventing the spread of the virus.
Wood said. “We have had to be really creative in some homes in teaching patients to isolate in their own environment. Education is a really big focus in home health.”
In total, the COVID team has cared for 15 patients infected with COVID-19, throughout the five county region.
“We have four current COVID patients,” Wood said. “Ten have completely recovered. Part of the story not being told by the media is that so many people are recovering.”
Wood said recovery varies from patient to patient, but 14 days is the average time of recovery.
“A patient has to have a full 72 hours without symptoms before we can say they are recovered,” Wood said.
Symptoms are mainly fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
Of the 15 cases the COVID team has treated at home, severity of the illness has ranged greatly from patient to patient. Some of those being treated were already patients of Sta-Home prior to testing positive with the virus. Others were referred from area clinics and hospitals. Wood said in all of these cases, local hospitals, clinics, and home health work together in “care coordination,” to ensure each patient receives the best possible care.
“We have had some patients referred to us because they have COVID, but some are current patients,” Wood said.
Those who are current patients are already battling health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and lung disorders – underlying conditions that make a patient at a greater risk if they contract the virus.
“We have seen recovery in older patients as well as those with various underlying conditions,” Wood said. “Not one pre-existing condition outweighs another. We’ve seen patients with every different underlying condition.”
Statewide, the number of cases of COVID-19 has increased by more than 100 per day in the last week. In Montgomery County and Sta-Home’s care region, the numbers have only slightly increased over the last week. Wood said slower growth can be attributed to local communities taking shelter-at-home orders seriously.
“I think our communities have done an excellent job,” Wood said. “Our healthcare community and community in general are doing what they need to mitigate this.”
As for Sta-Home’s COVID response team, they are dedicated to helping each patient recover while protecting the patient’s family, themselves, and their fellow team members.
“I’ve been really proud of my team,” Wood said. “Just the lengths they are willing to go to. They are protecting their patients and their families. It makes me very proud to be a part of our team.”
