COVID-19 is a viral respiratory infection; symptoms include fever, sore throat, runny nose, coughing, and shortness of breath. Infection rates in the United States are low and most people experience mild symptoms.

MWHC's Chief Medical Officer participated in a town hall with 7th District Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger. Ted Schubel at Town Talk has Dr. Newman's explanation of how COVID-19 differs from the flu.

The safest place for you to be in a medical emergency is under the care of skilled clinical and medical personnel. If you are having a medical emergency, such as chest pain or stroke, do not delay care because of fear of COVID-19. Call 911, and the first responders will transport you safely to the hospital.

If you are still unsure if you should come to the emergency room, please call our Health Link nurse advice line from 6:00 a.m.-midnight, 365 days a year. You can reach them at 540.741.1000.

Surgeries, endoscopies, and other procedures canceled

MWHC has canceled elective surgeries, endoscopies, and procedures until further notice. Emergency, life-saving, and medically necessary procedures will continue. We're taking this proactive measure to ensure the continuity of safe, quality care when our community needs it the most. If you have questions about an upcoming procedure, please contact your surgeon or provider.

We appreciate your understanding as we respond to the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation in our community.

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Regular appointments with your primary care provider or specialist

We recommend that you not cancel or delay any appointment you have scheduled. You should proceed with your healthcare as previously planned.

• If you have an appointment with a Mary Washington Medical Group provider, you will be pre-screened prior to your appointment.
• If you are experiecing any respiratory symptoms, please call prior to your appointment to be sure the office can still see you.
• You may be asked to reschedule a non-urgent specialty appointment if you are symptomatic, and you will be directed to visit your primary care provider.
• You may notice that magazines and remote controls have been removed from patient waiting areas. This is for your protection.
• We recommend practicing social distancing in providers' waiting rooms, for the safety of you, your children, and others.

Any changes to these recommendations will be published on this page and on our Facebook page.

Mary Washington Healthcare facilities NO LONGER ALLOW VISITORS. This includes both hospitals, Emergency Departments, Snowden at Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg Ambulatory Surgery Center, all Medical Imaging of Fredericksburg locations, both Imaging Center for Women locations, and Mary Washington Urgent Care*. We understand this temporary change to our policy may be inconvenient. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we focus on the health and safety of our patients, Associates and community.

Exceptions:

• One designated support person per laboring mother during hospital stay.
• Two parents/guardians of patients who are minors.
• *Mary Washington Urgent Care will permit a support person to accompany a patient needing mobility assistance (e.g. in a wheelchair or on crutches), but then the support person will need to wait in their car.

If you have questions about COVID-19, please call Mary Washington Healthcare Health Link at 540.741.1000.

Thank you for helping us maintain a safe, healing environment for our patients.

Listen as Dr. Christopher Newman, Chief Medical Officer, explains the no visitor policy:

If you experience COVID-19 symptoms but do not require immediate medical attention, it’s recommended you stay at home to recover and prevent the spread of illness. If you have trouble breathing or have flu-like symptoms that do not improve, call your provider before visiting the office or hospital. For the protection of other patients, you may be asked to wear a face mask prior to arriving.

In this video clip below, Mary Washington Healthcare physicians, Dr. Richard Lewis and Dr. Steve Mandell, advise our community of where to seek care if you have respiratory symptoms or exposure to COVID-19. You can also call 540.741.1000 to talk to an MWHC nurse to determine your best level of care based on your symptoms.

In the interest of public safety and the health of our community:

• Support groups and community meetings that meet in Mary Washington Healthcare facilities are cancelled until further notice.

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• Gift shops in Mary Washington and Stafford Hospitals are closed.

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• Life Support Training Center classes including NRP Courses at Mary Washington and Stafford Hospital have been cancelled until May 1, 2020.

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• Walk-in bill payment service is suspended for now. Please pay your bill through MyChart or by calling 540.741.1041. For any questions or concerns about your bill, please call 540.741.1041. For help with MyChart login, or to learn how to pay as a guest, please visit our Pay My Bill page. You can also pay your bill by mail by sending a cashier’s check, personal check, or credit card information to the following address. Indicate Bill Number on the memo line of the check:
  
  Mary Washington Healthcare
  2300 Fall Hill Ave., Suite 101
  Fredericksburg, VA 22401

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Mary Washington Medical Laboratories, Medical Group practices, and Medical Arts Pharmacy are OPEN and maintaining their regular hours. If you are experiencing any respiratory symptoms, please call ahead before your appointment.

We appreciate your understanding as we respond to the health needs of our community.

Unfortunately the availability of testing has been quite limited to date. Testing at this point is restricted to patients with certain criteria that would make them high risk for coronavirus, which is determined by the Virgina Department of Health.

If you have milder symptoms, we recommend you stay at home and self quarantine. If you are feeling more ill with high fever, respiratory distress or shortness of breath, come to the Emergency Department. We are particularly concerned about people with signifciant risk factors: those who are immunocompromised, or those with significant heart or lung disease.

As always, good hygiene and proper handwashing techniques are best practices to keep you and your family healthy. According to the CDC guidance on handwashing, these five steps will help prevent the spread of germs:

1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Other ways to stay healthy:

• If you are feeling ill (fever, cough, shortness of breath), stay at home and avoid close contact with other members of your family.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue away.
• Clean frequently touched surfaces with household detergent and water prior to disinfection.

Dr. Steve Mandell on the importance of social distancing:

Click here for other tips from the CDC on how to get your household ready for COVID-19.

Planning

Mary Washington Healthcare has been working diligently to be prepared for the spread of COVID-19 in Virginia. Our teams have proactively canceled elective procedures and implemented visitor restrictions in our hospitals. Our community has graciously donated personal protective equipment (PPE) and other items to support our Associates on the front line of this pandemic, and our Supply Chain team is making sure everything we receive is put to good use. Meanwhile, Mary Washington Medical Group is testing virtual visits so they can continue to safely provide care for their patients.

Critical decision making

MWHC has an interdisciplinary pandemic response team that meets daily to discuss the current COVID-19 situation in our region and our health system. This team is made up of providers and leaders from anesthesiology, emergency medicine, human resources, infection control, infectious disease, intensive care, medical staff, nursing, supply chain, and others. They make decisions on everything from PPE conservation to workforce planning, to surge capacity and ICU bed space.

They will also be instrumental in the decision to open the field hospital located within the Mary Washington Hospital parking garage when and if it’s needed.

Communication

Our Chief Medical Officer sends daily communications to all MWHC Associates. He also co-hosts, along with our CEO, Chief Nursing Officer, and Chief Human Resources Officer, weekly virtual town halls for medical staff, MWHC managers, and all MWHC Associates. We also have a COVID-19 resources page on our intranet with tip sheets, guidelines, and other important information from the CMO, infection control, and MWHC Health & Wellness.

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Field Hospital Tour with Dr. Eric Tosh

• Learn more on the CDC's COVID-19 website and the Virginia Department of Health Coronavirus website.
• You may also call the Virginia Department of Health hotline at 1-877-ASK-VDH3.
• Governor Ralph Northam's executive order about non-essential business and school closures in Virginia.
• Governor Northam's executive Stay at Home order.
• Struggling to find the words to talk to your children about COVID-19? Our friends at RACSB developed a "coronavirus journal" for children to write and draw their feelings. We hope it's a useful tool to help your children process the life changes they are experiencing right now.

Download the coronavirus journal