Filter Services Helps Hospitals Retrofit for COVID-19
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ADVANCED UROLOGY ASSOCIATES KEEPS
HIGH-RISK PATIENTS SAFE
During the pandemic, radiation oncology centers around the country have stayed open to treat cancer patients. Advanced Urology Associates is no different. But how do they keep their cancer patients, who are at-risk individuals, safe during COVID-19?
Advanced Urology Associates, which treats bladder, kidney, prostate and testicular cancer, immediately implemented temperature checks and screening questions for staff and patients who entered any of their three locations. Staff was required to wear masks, well before the state mandate, and patients were asked to wait in their car until they were ready to be seen.
Cancer patients with Advanced Urology Associates receive Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), which cannot be paused or delayed. It is a high-precision technique where radiation beams are contoured to the shape of the patient’s tumor, while minimizing the impact to surrounding healthy tissue or organs. This technology, which is only ten years old, is considered a breakthrough in the successful treatment of cancer.
“Providing excellent and safe care for our patients was imperative for us during COVID-19. Our cancer patients and emergency conditions (such as kidney stones) made it essential we remain open. I couldn’t ask for a better team to have throughout this crisis,” said Walter Garbarczyk, CEO of Advanced Urology Associates.
Patients with more routine, non-radiological visits were asked to book appointments via telemedicine. Advanced Urology Associates added this service on the fly, using HIPPA-compliant video conferencing tools. This allowed patients to safely receive healthcare, while limiting foot traffic and protecting high-risk individuals.
Lastly, in recognition of the crowded emergency rooms in Illinois during the spring, Advanced Urology Associates increased its availability for urgent and extreme urological cases, as a way to limit patients’ exposure in a hospital setting, as well as provide relief for overburdened emergency room physicians.
Advanced Urology Associates has been a client of First Midwest Bank since 2009.
