WVU Medicine providers urge residents not to put off potentially life-saving care during pandemic

“For us to defer those things too long, that’s when I think we start to have some other issues,” WVU Medicine CEO Albert Wright told WV News on Jan. 4. “Right now, those patients are accumulating.”

Now, with COVID-19 rates declining, WVU Medicine hospitals are reopening, and providers are seeking to reassure the public that it’s not only safe to make and keep medical appointments, but also could improve health outcomes.

Although some recent appointment cancellations by patients were likely attributable to weather, there seems to be a nationwide trend of individuals putting off medical care due to the pandemic, according to WVU Medicine Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Edmond.

“I think that’s fairly well-described in the medical literature that people are coming in with conditions that could have been treated earlier. I can’t give you a specific case here, but I don’t think we’re seeing anything different here than what other places are reporting, which is that people have delayed care, and they can get into trouble because they’ve done that,” he said.

West Virginia ranks highest in the nation in rates of a number of chronic illnesses. The state had the highest rate of hypertension at 43.8% of adults during 2019 in a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The foundation also ranked West Virginia first in diabetes rates, with 15.7% of adults suffering from the disease.

The United Health Foundation ranked West Virginia the “least healthy state” for high cholesterol, with 39.5% of adults being informed by a health-care provider that their cholesterol is high.

For these and most other chronic illnesses, early treatment provides better outcomes for patients, according to Edmond.

If the disease is caught and treated early, “you don’t end up getting the end-organ damage that will occur over time,” he said.

WVU Medicine providers are standing ready to help, according to WVU Heart and Vascular Institute Executive Chair Dr. Vinay Badhwar.

“One of the concerns is this fear of coming to a hospital to get care, and we really want to minimize that. We are thankfully — as you’ve seen by the R-naught numbers for the state starting to come back down — we’re back in the green phase … but we’re not out of the woods yet. That being said, our hospital is now fully opened and we’re back to normal capacity, and so people should not be afraid to come to the hospital for care,” Badhwar said.

According to Gov. Jim Justice, active cases of COVID-19 in the state fell below 10,000 on Friday for the first time since mid-November.

Fewer than 300 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide as of Thursday, far less than the peak of 818 COVID-19 patients on Jan. 5, according to state Department of Health and Human Resources data.

“Our numbers are as low as they’ve been for a couple of months, and that’s just reflecting what’s happening across the state,” Edmond said.

The COVID-19 patients who remain are treated under the same stringent protocols, in isolation and with workers following isolation protocols.

“Everything is set up to manage patients in the safest way possible,” Edmond said.

The majority of WVU Medicine facility staff have also now been vaccinated against COVID-19, he said.

“We just want to get the word out that people should not delay their care because, in some cases, that could cause harm to them. We’re here and we’re ready to serve,” Edmond said. “We have all the precautions in place.”

For those who are uncomfortable being in a medical setting due to weather, fear of COVID-19 or any other reason, Edmond recommended reaching out to the provider, as phone and video appointment options could be available.