As the COVID-19 pandemic surges across the nation, the healthcare workers on the front lines are often the ones who fall victim to it themselves. Thousands of healthcare workers from all over the country have caught the virus, and, according to a recent article, more than 600 have died from it.

Health systems, hospitals, medical centers, and large and small practice groups are all seeing the impacts. Tampa General Hospital recently reported that 55 of their staff members had tested positive, while more than 100 employees tested positive at Beth Israel Lahey Health in Boston, and over 700 workers at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System also contracted Coronavirus. (Becker’s Hospital Review)

This is a dire situation. Employees who test positive are forced to quarantine for weeks, leaving hospitals short-staffed during times of critical capacity. It is vital that healthcare providers take steps to ensure the safety of their employees, patients, and visitors, and mitigate outbreaks within their own facilities.

This is where innovative health screening solutions such as DeCurtis Shield™ can make a significant difference.

DeCurtis Shield™ is a kiosk that, when positioned at any secure entry, utilizes thermal imaging to automatically perform temperature screenings of anyone entering the facility. This eliminates the need for a staff member to manually take temperatures and limits the amount of possible exposure.

Employees who show an elevated temperature can immediately be sent home and quarantined before starting their shift. Visitors can also be sent home, which protects their loved ones. Even patients who arrive with an elevated temperature , in the ER for example, may be re-routed to an area of the facility specifically designated for potential at-risk patients.

Additionally, DeCurtis Shield™ has facial identification features which can be used in conjunction with employee ID badges or other management systems. This allows medical facilities to securely store health screening data and create a record that can provide actionable data in the future for contact tracing. The most powerful use of DeCurtis Shield™ is when it is integrated with DeCurtis’ location and proximity solution, which utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy technology and wearable devices that can track employees throughout your facility. Shield Kiosks can be placed throughout a facility, such as by entryways to each hospital floor or department, to continually monitor temperature. If a worker develops an elevated temperature during the workday, the location tracking feature can create a retroactive timeline to advise management where that worker has been, and who they have interacted with. This data is invaluable because it allows management to quickly take action to lessen the chances of an outbreak. The location and proximity capabilities also make it easy to identify any areas that require targeted cleaning and sanitizing protocols. DeCurtis Shield™ was recently implemented at the Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center where it is being hailed as a game-changer.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Light said, “It’s been really helpful to us in the last few months. We’ve been able to remain open. We’re able to accept patients from all over the state of Virginia and we have been able to provide mental health services in a time when it is needed.”

 

The Shield Kiosk at the Center has been used over 12,000 times in the past 11 weeks, and 21 people were turned away because of high temperatures. So far, there have been no cases of COVID-19 inside their facility among staff or patients. (Read full article)

This kind of protection is invaluable to healthcare facilities right now.

Healthcare facilities of any size can quickly and easily adopt DeCurtis Shield™. As a standalone solution, it can provide an immediate way to put your employees, visitors, and patients at ease, while minimizing risk for your business.

Let us help your healthcare facility be better prepared to mitigate the spread of illness by utilizing DeCurtis Shield™ to provide better health screening, continuous monitoring and proactive management. To learn more about DeCurtis Shield, visit our website.