“Imperative” for clinic to stay open

The Point Roberts Clinic has introduced new patient protocols and meeting procedures in light of the world-wide pandemic. In a special meeting held Sunday, March 22, the board of commissioners approved new operating protocols and procedures.

Effective immediately, the clinic has suspended routine check-ups and wellness visits. Appointments must be made before coming to the clinic and walk-ins are strongly discouraged.

They ask clients who are concerned that they might have Covid-19 but are not experiencing high fever or difficulty breathing to call the clinic and talk to a nurse. If clients are experiencing flu-like symptoms and have a high fever and breathing difficulties, they should call 911. The fire department will attend in hazmat gear and evaluate you and transport you to the hospital if needed.

The meeting began with a review of the pandemic by Dr. Sean Bozorgzadeh, one of the owners of SuperTrack Urgent Care, the practice that is running the local clinic. “This is uncharted territory for all of us,” he said. “The goal is to be prepared to the best of our ability to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.”

Referring to research published by the Imperial College London on March 16 (bit.ly/399qs1D), Dr. Bozorgzadeh projected that, without significant intervention and suppression strategies being implemented, the death toll in Whatcom County would be 1,483 with up to 37 deaths per day beginning in May to the peak in the middle of June. The mean incubation time is 5.2 days, with a range of 4-7 days. The R-naught number, or the number of people who are infected by an ill person, is 2.0-2.6 with 2.2 thought to be the most likely. Mitigation and suppression strategies attempt to get the R-naught below 1 in order to slow the transmission of the disease, reduce deaths and limit the pressure on medical facilities. “The Chinese have been successful at this and we’re trying to emulate what they’ve done,” he said.

Dr. Bozorgzadeh said it was important to communicate good information to the community about suppression techniques such as social distancing, adding it was imperative that the clinic stays open for non-coronavirus related illness. “One infected person walking into the clinic could close the clinic,” he warned. He projected that it will take 18 months to develop and deploy a vaccine meaning it would be necessary to continue with suppression efforts until the end.

In other business, the commission approved policies that would allow the district to continue to pay bills even if the commissioners were unable to meet in person. Nurse practitioner Virginia Lester told commissioners that her phone number was in the telephone book and that anybody who had health questions could call her up to talk.