(31 Mar 2020) As COVID-19 continues its spread across the country, hospitals in Chicago are scrambling to get ready to treat coronavirus patients. "This disease outbreak is frightening for everybody," says Dr. Dino Rumoro of Rush University Medical Center. He's the emergency medicine doctor who leads the hospital's emergency medicine team.
Rush has converted its main lobby into a low-grade emergency room where non-coronavirus patients can be treated and kept away from those being treated for COVID-19.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
All patients will come in through the main emergency area and from there, be divided by symptom.
For now, Rumoro says Rush has enough personnel and equipment, but the real question is a matter of how long this goes on. "It's a timing issue, says Rumoro, "if the disease goes on for a very long time, you're going to see burnout and wear and tear on the staff. You're going to see equipment, supplies continued to dwindle."
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