MedStar paramedics continue to be bogged down with calls from people with COVID-19-like illnesses.
Since June, MedStar has seen a whopping 144% increase in calls from people experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms. For patients who are clinically stable, MedStar can opt not to transport them to the hospital, and that has increased from one every three days in May to seven per day in August.
Matt Zavadsky with MedStar says for those patients, paramedics will by no means ignore them.
"We'll actually leave them a handout with information about how to stay safe at home, how to seek additional resources," Zavadsky said. "There's even a QR code so they can use their smartphones to register for monoclonal antibodies, [and] register for tests."
Even though Fort Worth now has a COVID-19 infusion center, Zavadsky says paramedics will usually not transport a patient there, because there are a few steps they have to go through in order to be approved for the infusion.
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