the plan for if you both are sick & one must go to hospital?

[Bongleur]

So if one person gets sick, the partner is likely to also get sick. But with some days of lag. So you the best case is you both are miserable for a while.

What if you decide one needs to go to the hospital? I'm trying to figure out exactly how you "go to the emergency room."

I would be inclined to call an ambulance instead. Especially if the partner is also very sick and thus not completely functional behind the wheel.

However, the partner still needs to get into the hospital to do the paperwork for the sicker spouse. IF they would let you in at all ? So how are they handling that at hospitals right now?

Our physician retired just before all this started, so we are also in the situation of not having a primary care physician & all our decades of medical records are unavailable.

And an envelope with insurance info, medication list, contact info for spouse, to give to the ambulance.

 

[pacergal]

I would call 911 in this instance.

 

[aaronc879]

You are supposed to call you PCP or local hospital and tell them your symptoms. Then they tell you where to go and meet you at the entrance with proper PPE for you and them. Only call 911 if you are having significant problems with breathing or instructed by a Dr to do so.

 

[LOL!]

We have received several e-mails from our health insurance company of what one should do. Do you get such e-mails? They also have phone number to call. You might just call them NOW to ask and see what they suggest.

 

[rk911]

I would call 911 in this instance.

yup, 9-1-1 will send the medics. two neighbors and two other close friends have keys. if it's my wife at home she'll need assistance and i'm certain friends and family would strp up. i'm noy worried at all about this scenario.

 

[Bongleur]

Where am I supposed to get "the number" for a hospital? 911 is the way to go.

I suppose "packing a bag" is useless -- they are going to strip you to the bone & bag up your potentially contaminated clothing, same would go for anything you want to bring into the room.

List of medicines allergic to...

 

[mrWinter]

I imagine different hospitals have different procedures, but at the hospital my wife works at in Baltimore, your significant other driving you to the hospital would not be allowed in the building. You have to say your 'I love you's when they drop you off, for many people that's the last chance they get to see their loved ones. For those lucky enough to come out, you still won't see eachother until they are released, no visitors allowed in the hospital at all.



That's one of our biggest concerns right now, both of us getting too sick to get out of bed, trying to keep an eye on eachother to see if either needs to go to the hospital, potentially like that for mutltiple weeks, then what to do with the kids, who are likely carriers as well? The answer is probably dump them on some poor family members who we are then likely to spread it to as well. Really hope it doesn't come to that.

 

[gwraigty]

Where am I supposed to get "the number" for a hospital? 911 is the way to go.

Look it up on the Internet or in a phone book, if you have one. I did that a few months ago and put it in my contacts list. It took only a couple of minutes. 911 should be reserved for emergency use, if there's a severe breathing problem.

 

[Aerides]

To me this is no different than any other medical emergency. You call 911, the paramedics come and you go to the nearest hospital for emergency triage. In a true potential life/death situation, calling 911 is usually better than trying to go to the ER yourself, because you get the medics in the van, and you potentially bypass the wait.

If I fall and break my leg today and no one is home (and I can drag myself to a phone) I'm not wondering about an envelope with my insurance info. That's dealt with later, the ambulance doesn't arrive and go "ma'am we need to call for approval."

Our physician retired just before all this started, so we are also in the situation of not having a primary care physician & all our decades of medical records are unavailable.

Regardless of Covid, I would go onto your plan's website and look for a new PCP today, you can probably google for reviews and find one that looks good enough. Call them, get things started to make them you new PCP. I'm sure most of that paperwork transfer can be done separate from a physical visit, and most providers are doing tele-doc stuff where they can.

 

[Freedom56]

For any emergency, we would contact our doctors via email and then Skype. My wife was a former O/R nurse and still maintains a license. Both our doctors are aware that she is a nurse. We are stocked at home with a lot of emergency medical supplies at home including saline drips, and many prescription drugs. Rather than go to urgent care, we would try to take care of it at our home first after consulting with our doctors if necessary.

 

[Bongleur]

>
911 should be reserved for emergency use, if there's a severe breathing problem.
>
But that's merely the definition of when you go to the hospital -- you stay home with severe flu symptoms until you are feeling moribund.

The question is, what pulse oximeter reading is the tripwire? One does not want to let it get too low. And whether using supplemental oxygen might prevent deterioration, or would you suddenly crash at home the next day anyway, instead of crashing in the hospital?

Before the general public was interested in pandemic precautions, I went to 3 different docs and none were willing to continue my male hormone replacement therapy, which I've been doing for more than a decade. Testosterone, Arimidex, and a blood test every 6 months. Stable & simple. They seem to be in the thrall of the insurance company all of a sudden. Said I should find an endocrinologist.

So I never got a chance to mention that I want some prescription meds to update our emergency medical kit. Also they refused to give me Pneumovax, since I'm theoretically not old enough yet. Nor to booster the triple vac they give to kids (I'm old enough never to have gotten it as a child). Because doing so would be "off label." Never mind they protect from hospital acquired pneumonia, and the pandemic makes being in a hospital much more likely...

>
I'm not wondering about an envelope with my insurance info. That's dealt with later,
>
A patient who can't breath, being hounded by a flack with a clipboard? No thanks. At least the piece of paper says "for medical data call spouse (who has my power of attorney) at ..." with a signature.

 

[rk911]

>
911 should be reserved for emergency use, if there's a severe breathing problem...

not true everywhere. in some areas (like mine, a county of nearly 1-mil) 9-1-1 is a response number. if you need police/fire/ems for anything our residents call 9-1-1. the dispatch operators then sort the requests by priority...

- threat to life
- threat to property
- everything else

save timeand check with your local jurisdiction on when 9-1-1 should be used.