North Hennepin News

Many hospitals in Minnesota are concerned that individuals with medical emergencies are avoiding going to the emergency room so that they will not be exposed to the coronavirus.

CBS Minnesota reports there has been a 60% decline in ER patients since mid-March at M Health Fairview.

“I think people are afraid to come in because they don’t want to get sick,” M Health Fairview Emergency Medicine VP Dave Millbrant told CBS. “My biggest fear is people not coming in to the ER for things that they should be coming in to the ER for, like strokes, like heart attacks.”

M Health Fairview, like many hospitals, have taken precautions to isolate COVID-19 patients from others. The Minneapolis-based facility screens patients at the door and non-COVID patients are immediately admitted to their own room rather than them having to wait in a communal space until a physician is available to see them.

The Urgency Room is another medical care facility that has taken measures to create a safe place for patients with medical needs not related to coronavirus. While its clinic in Woodbury is dedicated to coronavirus-related concerns, its clinics in Eagan and Vadnais Heights are considered “clean sites” as they only treat patients with medical needs not related to COVID-19. All patients are screened at the door and brought to their own isolated rooms. Prior to even going to the Urgency Room, patients can see wait times at the clinics in real time on the facility’s website.

“We felt it was really important to offer the community a space where there was low risk of contracting a COVID infection,” Urgency Room Assistant Medical Director Kristi Trussell told CBS.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, there have been more than 930 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state. The virus has also led to 29 deaths and more than 200 coronavirus cases have required hospitalization.