I hope you had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend! After a well-deserved break, the staff of the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic (VHC) are back and ready to move forward with the next phase of patient care.
I am writing today to update you on the progress we’ve made in patient services during this crisis and to let you know additional volunteers will be needed to work - either on-site or from home depending upon the role - in the coming weeks. If you’re available to participate, please contact Laura Hurst at [email protected].
In response to COVID-19, VHC temporarily halted our face-to-face, evening clinics in mid-March and worked quickly to find new, safe ways to serve patients. I am pleased to report we did it!
Phone-in medication refills – complete with curbside delivery of medications and on-demand physician reviews and/or consults – were in place within two days and over 750 prescriptions have since been filled. The next week, VHC Charge Nurses began making in-depth ‘Nurse Visit’ check-in calls to all patients with chronic conditions.
We’ve been piloting small, ‘virtual’ clinic sessions for our Monday night Chronic Disease Management (CDM) patients. Two volunteer Providers, with help from staff and volunteer Nurses, Super Users, and Interpreters, have provided medical care via telehealth from the Clinic. The next phase is to test video functionality for these telehealth visits.
Rest assured, VHC has Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the protocols in place to practice social distancing and to sanitize the Clinic before, during and after sessions, which is how we’ve had a small staff safely on-site for the last two months.
We’re nearly ready to get back to conducting patient visits - via telehealth - during our regularly scheduled evening clinics on Monday, Tuesday & Thursday evenings!
Details are being worked out, however next week we will offer a Monday night CDM session and a Tuesday walk-in clinic; services will be then be expanded in the coming weeks.
We’re excited about these steps – all excellent ways to meet our patients’ needs until we can safely re-open. Thanks for your ongoing engagement and the many ways you support VHC* and the health of the Austin community.
*The hand-made face masks & HEB gift cards have been a huge hit and are greatly appreciated!
Stay Safe & Be Well.
P.S. Please remember to reach out to Laura at [email protected] if you’re available to volunteer in the coming weeks.
Marci Roe
Executive Director
I am writing today to update you on the progress we’ve made in patient services during this crisis and to let you know additional volunteers will be needed to work - either on-site or from home depending upon the role - in the coming weeks. If you’re available to participate, please contact Laura Hurst at [email protected].
In response to COVID-19, VHC temporarily halted our face-to-face, evening clinics in mid-March and worked quickly to find new, safe ways to serve patients. I am pleased to report we did it!
Phone-in medication refills – complete with curbside delivery of medications and on-demand physician reviews and/or consults – were in place within two days and over 750 prescriptions have since been filled. The next week, VHC Charge Nurses began making in-depth ‘Nurse Visit’ check-in calls to all patients with chronic conditions.
We’ve been piloting small, ‘virtual’ clinic sessions for our Monday night Chronic Disease Management (CDM) patients. Two volunteer Providers, with help from staff and volunteer Nurses, Super Users, and Interpreters, have provided medical care via telehealth from the Clinic. The next phase is to test video functionality for these telehealth visits.
Rest assured, VHC has Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the protocols in place to practice social distancing and to sanitize the Clinic before, during and after sessions, which is how we’ve had a small staff safely on-site for the last two months.
We’re nearly ready to get back to conducting patient visits - via telehealth - during our regularly scheduled evening clinics on Monday, Tuesday & Thursday evenings!
Details are being worked out, however next week we will offer a Monday night CDM session and a Tuesday walk-in clinic; services will be then be expanded in the coming weeks.
We’re excited about these steps – all excellent ways to meet our patients’ needs until we can safely re-open. Thanks for your ongoing engagement and the many ways you support VHC* and the health of the Austin community.
*The hand-made face masks & HEB gift cards have been a huge hit and are greatly appreciated!
Stay Safe & Be Well.
P.S. Please remember to reach out to Laura at [email protected] if you’re available to volunteer in the coming weeks.
Marci Roe
Executive Director
