To help our community prepare for a possible increase in patients with symptoms of respiratory illness, two of Wake Forest Baptist Health’s primary care clinics have been converted into temporary respiratory symptom clinics and opened earlier today.
The two locations are:
- Family Medicine and Internal Medicine – Peace Haven (1930 N. Peace Haven Rd., Winston-Salem)
- Pulmonology – Westchester (1814 Westchester Dr., Suite 202, High Point)
People with symptoms of respiratory illness should first call their primary care provider for telephone screening to determine whether they need to be seen in person at one of the respiratory symptom clinics.
Those without a primary care provider can call Wake Forest Baptist’s hotline at 336-70-COVID for telephone screening to determine if the symptoms can safely be managed at home or if the patient needs to be seen in person.
If the patient needs to be seen in person, the patient will be asked to come to one of the respiratory symptom clinics where the evaluation could range from a simple flu swab, to a chest X-ray in the office, if needed.
“Our goal is to make sure we are providing the best care for those in our community who may have acute illnesses such as influenza, pneumonia, or COVID-19, while limiting their exposure to other patients and protecting our staff,” said Richard Lord, M.D., professor and chair of family medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Health. “At the same time, we need to continue to care for our patients who have chronic illnesses and help them manage their conditions at our other outpatient facilities, so they can remain out of the emergency department and avoid being hospitalized.”
At this time, Wake Forest Baptist Health is following state and national guidelines and is limiting COVID-19 testing in the outpatient setting to only patients ill enough to require admission to the hospital. Wake Forest Baptist may make additional respiratory symptom clinics available in other regions soon.
Media Contacts
Joe McCloskey, jmcclosk@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1273
Eryn Johnson, eryjohns@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8228