Emergency department versus primary or immediate care: Where to seek healthcare as COVID-19 cases continue to surge

HUNTLEY – With Illinois hospitals running short on inpatient beds as the omicron variant spreads, and longer wait times in emergency rooms, healthcare facilities like Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital are urging members of the public to not seek COVID testing or other non-emergency care in the emergency department.

Dr. Daniel Campagna, MD, director of emergency medicine at Northwestern Medicine Huntley, McHenry, and Woodstock hospitals, spoke with My Huntley News on the first steps residents should take when trying to decide where to go for care should they suspect they have contracted COVID-19.

“Well [the] first thing that they should do if a patient develops symptoms of COVID-19, especially the omicron variant, and those symptoms would include fever, chills, malaise, sore throat, cough, congestion, headaches, they should presume that they have COVID-19 even if they haven’t been tested at this point,” said Campagna. “So, the most important thing is to presume that you have COVID-19 and isolate yourself as best as you can. If you feel the need that you need to get tested for COVID-19, there’re several tests you can take before coming to the emergency department.”

Campagna suggests for residents to visit the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) website to find state-managed COVID-19 testing facilities or visit coronavirus.illinois.gov/testing-sites.html to locate more local community-based testing sites. Residents should be aware that not all testing sites listed on that website are managed by IDPH.

Self-testing kits and visiting local pharmacies are other options Campagna suggests if residents need to get tested for COVID-19.

Emergency room visits should only be reserved for patients experiencing difficulty breathing and other serious ailments unrelated to COVID-19 such as severe abdominal pain, severe bleeding, severe injury, heart attack symptoms, stroke symptoms, suicidal behavior, head injuries, seizures, poisoning or overdose, and severe allergic reactions to name a few, according to Northwestern Medicine.

“We will always take the sickest of sick patients and treat them first and give them the very best care that we can. Obviously, there are longer wait times at our emergency department due to the COVID-19 surge,” said Campagna. “So, if you feel that you’re ill and don’t have an emergency, we recommend discussing that with your primary care physician and take next steps based on their recommendations first before coming to the emergency department.”

Campagna says that Northwestern Medicine has not had to cancel any elective surgeries as far as he’s aware, although he does make it clear that anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 needs to have surgeries postponed until they have been quarantined for the appropriate number of days recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and are asymptomatic.

“We would not operate on somebody who is testing positive for COVID-19 or who has COVID-19 like symptoms. Unless they test negative, surgery should be delayed until you’re healthy,” Campagna added.

With IDPH having announced the arrival of two new COVID-19 oral antivirals—Paxlovid (Pfizer) and Molnupiravir (Merck)—to arrive later in January for those with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at risk for becoming severely ill, Campagna explained that that is not a replacement for getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

“[Those medications] will be in very limited supply at our pharmacies initially. They will be reserved for the sickest of sick patients that have the highest risk of getting severely ill from COVID-19. So, for example, patients with cancer, patients who are immunosuppressed by chemotherapy or chronic steroid use, elderly patients with a lot of comorbid medical conditions,” he said. “So, the most important thing, again to reiterate, is to get vaccinated and prevent the infection and the spread of the disease in the first place. It’s the best thing patients can do to help themselves and help everybody else in the community.”

Campagna explained that it is important for residents to avoid misinformation and stay current with what is going on regarding the pandemic by watching the news or visiting reputable websites to become more educated about COVID-19.

“Talk to your family physician if you have any questions about it and again, most importantly is to get vaccinated. That’s the most important thing that we can do as a community to stop the spread and get back to some sort of a normal lifestyle,” said Campagna.

Northwestern Medicine suggests that when non-emergency treatment is needed, residents should first call their primary care physician, and when treatment is needed soon and a provider is not available or residents don’t have a provider, they should visit an immediate care center first before going to the emergency room.

Immediate care centers can treat ailments including but not limited to broken or dislocated bones, minor cuts, scrapes or burns, animal bites, insect stings, urinary tract infections, administer tetanus shots, treat skin problems, treat back, joint, or muscle pain, and treat pink eye.