JPS Health Network has moved into the next stage of its always evolving COVID-19 response with the creation of a new clinic designed specifically to serve the long-term health needs of positive patients.
“It’s a full-service, multi-disciplinary clinic that can serve all the needs of COVID-19 patients throughout the recovery process,” said Dr. Steven Davis, pulmonary/critical care physician and Senior Physician Executive of Internal Medicine. “It’s hard enough just being able to go to the doctor in the times we’re living in. But it would be functionally impossible if you had COVID. You would screen fail anywhere you tried to get in.”
So why not create a clinic designed to serve the patients whose positive diagnosis keeps them from getting in other places?
Called the Post Recovery Clinic, Davis said it has been set up in the JPS Polytechnic Health Center at 1650 Beach Road in Fort Worth. It is a one-stop shop for patients to not only limit the number of times they have to leave isolation for treatment, but to get them answers about their care quickly. That’s important, the doctor said, because COVID is still a new disease, so healthcare providers don’t know exactly what needs patients will have on the road to recovery. It’s not just there to serve COVID-related needs. The clinic is there to help with other health needs – such as recovery from injury or treatment of cardiovascular issues – who also happen to have tested positive.
It has been an amazing and humbling experience to be a part of developing the post recovery clinic. I look forward to seeing how this will grow and evolve.
The clinic opened with a trial run to help caregivers organize and prepare. Team members, dressed in personal protective equipment including double gloves and face shields, were excited to help patients in Tarrant County. The group approach will allow caregivers to quickly respond to evolving needs of COVID-19 patients as they recover.
“It was really rewarding to see multiple disciplines working together,” Davis said. “You don’t have to call therapy or someone else to get an answer and then wait to hear back from them. Team members from all the disciplines are there in a bullpen area, working together. So I can get an answer for the patient not in hours or days, but in seconds.”
Kia Jackson, Director, Community Health Primary Care Services, said the clinic is designed to not only help COVID-19 patients address all their needs now, but also to evolve as those needs potentially change in the future.
“The Post Recovery Clinic offers a comprehensive and multidisciplinary type of care,” Jackson said. “Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, Psychology, and Physical Therapy are just a few services that are offered within this visit. COVID-19 has affected so many, whether directly or indirectly, and we are determined to give our patients and others peace of mind and provide the best outcome we can for them. The virus takes a toll on individuals in different ways and our goal is to continue to provide support to them in their recovery process.”
Jackson said the new clinic is designed to be flexible and adaptable not only in services it offers but in the number of people that can be cared for there.
“The clinic is open to see patients every other Tuesday of each month,” Jackson said. “In the first few weeks, we’ve seen that the demand is high and we are committed to getting the patients in as soon as possible. When we receive a referral from the patient’s provider, our registration representative will give the patient a call and get them scheduled for their first visit. Depending on the outcome of the first visit, a follow-up appointment is made with the specific discipline that the patient may need. We are devoted to helping bring each patient to a full recovery.” Jackson said the fact that people from multiple disciplines have come together to quickly meet a community need makes her proud to work at JPS.
“It has been an amazing and humbling experience to be a part of developing the post recovery clinic,” Jackson said. “I look forward to seeing how this will grow and evolve.”