Healthcare Partners Back in Operation after COVID-19 Scare
Belize Healthcare Partners Limited admitted and treated a patient who has now died from COVID-19. As you know, Conrad Everett was first hospitalized there and tested negative for the virus and upon transfer to the K.H.M.H., he tested positive. Of note is that at both facilities, persons who came in contact with him have tested negative as well. Healthcare Partners has since been decontaminated and has reopened. The private institution remains ready to treat persons who are affected with the classic symptoms of the COVID-19. News Five’s Duane Moody has the following report.
Conrad Everett
Duane Moody, Reporting
Back in action – Belize Healthcare Partners Limited is up and running today, reopening its doors and offering medical services to its clients and the general public after a COVID-19 scare at the private health institution. Patient ten, Conrad Everett, who later died as a result of the virus, had been admitted for some time at the facility, treated for community acquired pneumonia. Everett had initially tested negative for the virus, even though the symptoms he exhibited were similar to that of COVID-19. It wasn’t until days later that a retest proved positive when Everett was transferred to the K.H.M.H.
Andre Sosa
Dr. Andre Sosa, Chief of Staff, Belize Healthcare Partners Limited
“He was treated as a patient with acute febrile illness and that includes a range of different pathologies that can include COVID-19 so the test was requested from the beginning. He was treated with the range of medications that would normally be used for COVID-19 patients so he was covered for that. It’s unfortunate that we have two deaths already in the country. I think that helps to put things into perspective and that we have to be on our guard at all times. We are in a pandemic and everybody has to take this seriously. Unfortunately, we had what appears to have been a false negative result for that patient and that puts us at a disadvantage. It is a disadvantage that all providers have to be aware of and as such, the other message is that it is difficult to depend on one lab to do coverage for the entire country. The bottlenecks that that creates and the loss of time to make accurate and timely diagnosis becomes an issue.”
The incident placed medical and civilian staff at B.H.P.L. at risk of exposure, despite exercising proper protocols in administering care at the facility. An initial test of the staff members who came in contact with Everett have returned negative.
Dr. Andre Sosa
“The fact that none of our personnel have tested positive so far is to some extent a vindication of the steps that we have taken to try and protect staff and our clients. God willing, the remaining test, the follow up test, will also be negative and we have to continue doing the things that are necessary: using the masks, doing the hand washing, maintaining social distancing. Those efforts have to be redoubled. It is the new normal; everybody has to be onboard with those efforts.”
The private hospital temporarily closed its doors to clients as the entire structure was decontaminated.
Dr. Andre Sosa
“We have done a triple decontamination; that means that the facility is fully clean now. Our isolation area again is fully functional and it proved fit for purpose. We were able to do all our swabbing within that area and I am certain that we are ready to see patients safely. This morning already, we have had people using our lab, using our pharmacy and using our consultation clinic. So the public can be fully confident that the hospital is safe for use. We have always had a rigorous protocol in terms of cleansing and testing our facilities, being rooms where the patients are hospitalized, the emergency area, operating theatre, the outpatient clinic—these are swabbed on a regular basis for all sorts of germs. And that again is something that we are accustomed to and thankfully because we have that culture and attitude of doing those things, it has made it easier for us to get this place fit for use once again.”
For weeks now, Belize Healthcare Partners Limited has identified and properly equipped an isolation unit for COVID-19 patients apart from the main structure. Duane Moody for News Five.
