Letter to the Editor

Why are patients at the Liberty hospital clinic having to wait out in the cold for their appointment? They don’t have a waiting room available and expect you to sit at a picnic table outside. The elderly lady ahead of my 77-year-old mom left because of it, so my mom didn’t have to sit outside in the freezing cold.

-Kent Bautsch

RESPONSE

Liberty Dayton Regional Medical Center places patient and staff safety as our highest priority. In order to mitigate the continued spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, we have elected to restrict the internal facility to those seeking emergent medical attention or those admitted to the hospital. At this time, we have chosen to close waiting rooms and asked that patients seeking services to notify the registration clerk they are here for their appointment, leave a contact number, and safely wait in their vehicle until they are called into the exam room. They also have the choice to wait at the outside tables provided when weather permits. In addition, we offer telemedicine visits from the comfort of the patient’s home. They would only be asked to come to the clinic in person if their provider feels an in person visit is warranted for their medical complaint based upon the telemedicine evaluation. We are working daily to service our patients in a safe and timely manner. Based on CDC recommendations and current positivity rate for the County, this is how we adjust our workflow in order to protect the patients presenting to the facility.

We apologize for any distress or problems this caused this patient or anyone else who might have experienced an unpleasant visit. We appreciate the community feedback so we can adjust workflows to better serve your needs. Thank you for your comment to the editor.

-Rhonda Campbell, CEO