On This Side Of Surge, Hospital Asks Sick People To Seek Care

MELROSE, MA — As overflow beds get wheeled out of the halls of MelroseWakefield Hospital and COVID-19 surge precautions are slowly stripped away, it's gradually getting back to a more normal feel at what just a few weeks ago looked like a place awaiting disaster. Except for one major thing: the patients.

Officials said non-COVID visits have decreased dramatically compared to pre-pandemic rates. In a vacuum, one might consider that a good thing — except that serious illnesses and diseases aren't taking a vacation, people are just avoiding seeking treatment.

"One of the sad things," Dr. Steve Sbardella said,"is that people who have been afraid to come into the hospital have actively put off seeking medical care."

The hospital's chief medical officer told Patch over the phone that the hospital is starting to wind down from the surge — "It'll never go back to normal but it's back toward normalcy," he said — but people who could be at high risk are putting off seeing doctors, likely due to anxiety surrounding the coronavirus.

When the pandemic started to swell, hospitals put off elective procedures and deferred others on patients they thought it wouldn't hurt to wait another month or two for. Now that things are on this side of the peak, Sbardella said it's time to get those people into the hospital.

Related: MelroseWakefield Hopes For Best, Prepares For Worst

People who are at a higher risk for developing cancers, experiencing symptoms of heart disease or stroke or have suffered vascular injuries are among those who should be looking to get back into the hospital as soon as they can. Putting it off any longer "really is a detriment to their own care," Sbardella said.

COVID-19 is, of course, still a major concern, but Sbardella said it shouldn't be a reason people don't come in. The hospital has COVID units and non-COVID units, and people who are admitted the hospital are tested and have their results within an hour. The COVID and non-COVID populations might as well be in two separate hospitals, from how Sbardella describes it.

Sbardella acknowledged the hospital has seen a financial hit due to the pandemic. "I can't imagine a hospital in the country that isn't feeling the financial effects of the COVID pandemic," he said.

The well-being of patients, he said, is why he's putting the call out for them to come back. He said they are already coming in sicker than what they would have been if they had sought care a few weeks earlier.

If someone is wondering whether they should go to the hospital, Sbardella said start with a simple call to your doctor.

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