Health First’s Safety Measures During COVID-19 Pandemic Put Breast Center Patient at Ease
By Health First // June 5, 2020
All the measures in place to protect patients now part of the new normal in a COVID-19 world
“The Breast Center is amazing, you feel like you’re walking into a friend’s house.”
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – When the COVID-19 pandemic began ramping up, Dana McLaurin decided to temporarily postpone her appointment at Health First’s Breast Center.
“Let me reschedule, hoping this would all be over,” Dana, 62, recalled thinking earlier this spring.
But then it became clear that COVID-19 wasn’t going anywhere for the immediate future. And she decided to go in for a breast biopsy of a calcification, despite the lingering worries about the respiratory illness. Soon, her fears dissipated.
“I was very pleasantly surprised,” Dana said of going into the Gateway facility at Health First Medical Group in late May.
All the measures in place to protect patients – now part of the new normal in a COVID-19 world – were a relief.
“They offered masks when you came in,” Dana said. “When I got there, everyone had masks on. The nurses are way beyond nice, professional, and COVID-19 was out of my mind at that point. I was so comfortable.”
Dana also felt reassured by social distancing standards put in place, with seats marked off to keep people six feet apart. And when staff gave her a pen to fill out her paperwork, they told her to keep it – which was a nice gesture in her mind.
She also remarked how clean the facility was, as well as the state-of-the-art equipment, which she witnessed being sanitized both before and after it was used for her procedure.
The experience left Dana feeling confident – not only about being protected from COVID-19 but informed about her procedure and genuinely cared for. Going in for a biopsy or mammogram can be unsettling for any woman, but having a care team that is comforting and reassuring can make all the difference, she said.
“They were so nice,” she said. “They were very professional. They tell you what they’re doing, why and what you can expect. They take the scare right out of it. They take all the unknown out of there.”
Dana – who was happy to learn her biopsy results were negative – said staff was happy to talk to her about any concerns she had. It’s one of the many reasons Gateway is her favorite place for such care.
“The Breast Center is amazing,” Dana said. “You feel like you’re walking into a friend’s house.”
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