ALL PATIENTS:
Flu Vaccine Update: This season our physicians have elected to administer Flublok which is: 1) a higher dose vaccine – three times the strength of the regular dose 2) quadrivalent – covers four strains instead of just three and 3) Recommended for patients eighteen years and older.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the procedures for the administration of the flu vaccine for our patients has changed this season.
GMA is currently offering Drive-Thru Flu Vaccine times on Thursday’s and Friday’s from 1:30pm – 4:30pm. No appointment is needed.
Patients that have upcoming lab appointments for their Annual Physical Exams may elect to receive a Flu Vaccine when they are here for that appointment. Please inform the lab technician if you would like to receive this during your drive-thru lab appointment.
The doctors at Guilford Medical Associates encourage you to come in to receive your vaccination at any of the above walk-in Flu Clinic times.
Due to limited inventory and unpredictable delivery schedules from the manufacturer, we may find it necessary to offer substitutes for FluBlok. We will inform you prior to administering your vaccine if this is the case and you will be given the choice of receiving what we have available, waiting for our next shipment or receiving your vaccine elsewhere.
GMA COVID Update 11/10/20
As has been widely publicized, we are seeing escalating cases of COVID-19 cases in our nation, NC, and our local communities. Locally we are seeing record numbers of hospitalizations and we worry that the recent trends will worsen as we enter the colder fall and winter months where activities move indoors and people gather for the holidays. With this in mind, we want to share an update including some guidance from the NC DHHS regarding upcoming holiday planning (see link):
https://files.nc.gov/covid/documents/guidance/NCDHHS-Interim-Guidance-for-Thanksgiving.pdf
We continue to evaluate and test patients exhibiting symptoms within our office, using strict protocols to isolate sick from well patients. We also now have the capability of Rapid Antigen testing within our office; however, this test is not recommended for asymptomatic patients and due to the lower sensitivity of the test, the gold standard PCR test is generally preferred. It usually takes approximately 24-48 hours to receive the PCR results from LabCorp. Drive through PCR testing is also available at the old Women’s Hospital on Green Valley Road from 10-3 on Mon-Fri for patients exposed to someone with COVID-19. You are considered a contact if you are in the same household or within 6 feet for 15 minutes during a 24 hour period of someone who is COVID positive (with or without a mask). If you are in contact with someone with COVID-19, we recommend being tested 5-7 days after the exposure, as earlier testing is likely to be unreliable. It is imperative that you quarantine for 14 days after an exposure, even if your test is negative, to prevent the continued spread to family, friends, coworkers, and our community.
We are excited about the encouraging news released about the COVID vaccine. We have purchased an ultra-cold freezer for storage and have applied to receive the vaccine in hopes that we will have that available for our patients in concordance with CDC recommendations for vaccine deployment, once it is FDA authorized. We do not yet know if and when we will receive the vaccine but we will send an update when we have more information.
In the meantime, please stay vigilant with the 3 W’s: wear facial coverings, wait 6 feet (and avoid crowded gatherings), and wash your hands frequently to keep you and the rest of our community safe and healthy!
https://files.nc.gov/covid/documents/guidance/NCDHHS-Interim-Guidance-for-Thanksgiving.pdf
Update 7/20/2020
We continue to see increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in North Carolina and Guilford County. We urge everyone to help mitigate the spread in our community by following the 3 Ws:
-Wait/physically distance at least 6 feet away from others
-Wear facial coverings when in public areas
-Wash hands frequently
We strongly encourage patients to avoid crowded areas, particularly indoors, where many outbreaks are occurring. The chart below illustrates the risk associated with different activities and the probability of being exposed based on the size of gatherings (To view the chart, please click on link below):
If you are in contact with someone who tests positive for COVID you should quarantine (stay at home and avoid contact with others) for 14 days and monitor for symptoms. Testing may be warranted. While we do not have the capacity to test asymptomatic patients in the office, you can call our office for guidance. There are now several options for testing asymptomatic contacts, including:
- Guilford County Health Department drive through test sites (call 336-641-7527 Mon-Fri 10am-3pm to arrange testing)
- Cone Health drive through test sites, if you meet their testing criteria (call our office for an order)
- CVS (visit CVS.com for self-testing sites and to schedule appointment)
We do encourage direct contacts of positive patients to continue to quarantine even if your test is negative due to the possibility of false negative tests in asymptomatic patients or those with mild symptoms. In addition, it is currently taking 5-7 days to receive results from all testing sites due to the increased number of tests being processed by LabCorp.
If you develop symptoms, isolate yourself and contact our office for evaluation and testing for COVID. Patients with symptoms and those who test positive should isolate themselves (stay at home and avoid contact with others, including those in your home). Isolation should continue for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms AND until symptoms have improved AND fever has resolved for 24 hours without medications like Tylenol or Advil (For more information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/end-home-isolation.html).
Our office protocols remain unchanged from prior updates. We continue to encourage telehealth options for routine follow-up visits but are seeing acute issues, including non-COVID issues, in the office using protocols to separate COVID from non-COVID patients. We encourage you to seek medical care when needed as we have seen negative outcomes in patients who have delayed medical care due to COVID concerns.
We remain committed to getting through the COVID pandemic with you and appreciate the commitment our staff and patients have made to keeping themselves and others healthy during these unprecedented times.
Update 5/29/2020
We wanted to update you as we enter the next phase in reopening Guilford Medical Associates on 6/1/20. Despite national trends showing a decline in COVID-19 rates, we continue to see steady numbers of new cases and an increase in hospitalizations within our community. We feel it is as important as ever to remain vigilant and to follow the CDC recommendations to wear face coverings when in public, to socially distance and avoid crowds, and to wash your hands frequently. For many of you, staying home remains the best line of defense. We also recognize that some patients are delaying necessary acute and preventive care that remains vital to your health. With this in mind we plan to slowly increase the number of patients being seen in the office starting June 1st. We will see most acute issues in the office. We will continue to isolate patients with respiratory symptoms to the Henry St. side of the building using a separate entrance and exam rooms. We will require that all patients wear face coverings when entering the office. All patients will wait in their cars and will be escorted directly to a clean exam room for the entirety of their visit. Check in and check out will occur in this room to limit the number of interactions and congestion within the office. Telehealth options are still available and may be encouraged by your Provider for Annual Wellness/Preventive Visits. All non-acute routine office visits (ie. Diabetes and Blood Pressure checkups) will remain virtual for now to limit the number of patients physically in the office at one time. We will work with you to determine the most appropriate option for you as Guilford Medical’s primary focus continues to be maintaining your health while keeping you safe during this extraordinary time.
GMA is here for our patients and we always have a physician available on call after hours and on the weekend to provide guidance. If you are experiencing severe shortness of breath you should call 911 and go to your local emergency room for evaluation.
Please continue to monitor our website (www.guilfordmedical.com) as processes and procedures will continue to evolve and updated information will be posted there.
Thank you for your trust and confidence in the physicians and staff at Guilford Medical Associates, PA.
Closings or Delays:
Changes to regularly scheduled hours due to severe weather conditions will be posted here and also on the WFMY News2 website under closings & delays.
The office will be closed on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Office Hours:
Office hours are 8am – 5pm Monday through Friday.
After hours care is available Weekdays (Monday – Friday) from 7:30am through 6:00pm
For a non-emergency appointment please contact our office at 336 621-8911 or through the patient portal.
