Mad River Community Hospital Reopening Elective Services with New Surgical Suite

This is a press release from Mad River Community Hospital:

[Photo from madriverhospital.com]

When the COVID-19 outbreak began, routine healthcare appointments and procedures were cancelled or postponed. According to a report by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science more than 80,000 diagnoses of five common cancers may be missed or delayed by early June because of disruptions to health care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the shelter-in-place order continues to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Humboldt County, local Public Health Official, Dr. Teresa Frankovich has advised this is “…an opportune time to access the care you need to stay healthy while we have this window of opportunity in Humboldt County.”

Mad River Community Hospital (MRCH) has worked diligently with the Humboldt County Public Health, the California Department of Public Health and other Government and State organizations to apply the necessary precautions in order to keep our community safe when seeking medical care. The public is therefore encouraged to schedule appointments with doctors Bruce Barker, MD and Christopher Myers, DO who are performing elective procedures at their new Integrative Surgical Specialists, Inc. suite on the second floor of the Shaw Medical Pavilion. Services available include treatment of: gallbladder disease, colon cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer, GERD, hernias of all types, and screening for colon cancer.

During the lull in COVID-19 activity, our Emergency Department has taken down its yellow triage tent. However patients are still being triaged for COVID-19 symptoms with social distancing practiced in the waiting room or patients being asked to wait outside or in their vehicle. “If you have worrisome symptoms for health-related emergencies such as heart attack or stroke, please do not delay seeking care due to COVID concerns,” said Dr. Frankovich. Our skilled nurses and providers are here to help you for any health emergency you may experience.

MRCH Clinics are also open and taking appointments for all periodic screening and routine patient health care, immunizations, chronic disease management and can help you access regular breast, cervical and colon cancer screening services. The Lab is open in the Shaw Medical Pavilion and will do curbside draws from patient’s cars for those wanting to continue to limit contact. Please call the Lab at 707.826.8265 or send them an email at [email protected] to set up your drive through lab draw appointment.

Please rest assure that Mad River Community Hospital is dedicated to ensuring safe patient care while meeting your healthcare needs during this COVID-19 window of opportunity.