Experiencing serious symptoms? Go to the hospital, srrmc says

SAN RAMON, CA — San Ramon Regional Medical Center's emergency department chief wants the public to know that staff are not overwhelmed with the response to the new coronavirus and

people should come in if they're experiencing serious symptoms. Some patients worry they'll get sick at the hospital, while others worry about burdening health care workers, said

Dr. Joe Toscano, SRRMC department chair of emergency medicine. Early on as the U.S. watched the coronavirus inundate health care facilities in China and Italy, American public health

officials warned that people should stay out of the hospital if they could avoid it. "We really thought we were going to be overwhelmed with taking care of patients," Toscano said.

California instituted a stay-at-home order and people heeded warnings to stay out of the hospital if possible, he said. SRRMC started to see fewer emergency room patients about five weeks

ago. Health care workers thought it was the result of people staying home and fewer car accidents. But they started to see cases of people who didn't come in, despite experiencing

significant symptoms, Toscano said. It became clear over time that it was a trend. One patient had stomach pain for three days before coming in to the hospital, he said. It turned out their

appendix had ruptured. Toscano wants to make it clear that patients experiencing significant symptoms ought to come in, especially if they resemble those of heart attack or stroke. The

emergency room is not overwhelmed and is taking maximal precautions to decrease the chances that staff and patients become sick. ------------------------- Don't miss updates about

coronavirus precautions as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters. ------------------------- "A lot of things get better on their own," he said.

"But there are some conditions that once they set in, time is of the essence." Toscano said people experiencing the following symptoms should call 911 and immediately head to the

hospital: * Chest pain * Severe abdominal pain * Difficulty breathing/shortness of breath * Stroke-like symptoms including: bodily weakness and facial drooping, especially on one side;

difficulty speaking and walking; difficulty raising both arms to same height) See other symptoms that warrant a visit to the emergency room here on the SRRMC site. Toscano also recommended

that anyone worried about COVID-19 take this online test created by Apple in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. SRRMC said it is also working with local health

officials to determine when it will be able to fully resume elective surgeries. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced California hospitals were in a position to accommodate patients in

need of elective surgeries. _Visit the 24-hour SRRMC emergency room at 6001 NORRIS CANYON ROAD and call hospital staff at 925-275-9200._ READ MORE FROM PATCH: