I’m Michelle Ashworth – a hematologist/medical oncologist with Texas Oncology in Round Rock. As we all know, treatment for cancer is not something we can interrupt, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re now about a month in, and our mission is focused on providing uninterrupted, high-quality care in an environment that is safe and supportive to our patients and our staff.
We’ve placed spacing markers on the floor wherever patients may form a line to help them see “distancing.” We’ve removed seating from our waiting areas to create spacing and added additional seating wherever possible. We’ve added plexiglass barriers for patient-facing staff at nursing stations, the pharmacy, and the front desk. We’ve designated specific enclosed spaces to isolate any patients who are identified as “of concern” after they’ve entered clinic.
We’re optimizing the ability of our team to work offsite wherever feasible, and repurposing our space to allow more distancing.