Thursday, March 19, 2020
In an effort to share COVID-19 testing and admissions information with the community, Beaumont Health will begin providing daily updates on its website.
“During this public health crisis, we have an obligation to share our COVID-19 data with the many communities we serve,” Beaumont Health CEO John Fox said. “We want to be transparent. The numbers reflect the gravity of the pandemic and our staff’s dedicated actions to detect and treat patients at all eight of our hospitals.”
Once a day, the following numbers/statistics will be available on Beaumont’s website - https://www.beaumont.org/coronavirus:
- Total number of patients tested by Beaumont for COVID-19.
- Number of patients who test positive for COVID-19.
- Number of patients who test negative for COVID-19.
- Number of patients with pending COVID-19 test results. Beaumont has shifted mainly to COVID-19 testing within its own labs but will still use some outside national labs.
- Number of patients tested for COVID-19 currently in a Beaumont hospital.
- Number of patients tested for COVID-19 and sent home.
Explained Dr. Nicholas Gilpin, Beaumont Health’s medical director of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, “Most patients who test positive for COVID-19 will not experience complications and will recover. We’re telling people without complications or chronic health conditions to go home, rest and take over-the-counter medication for pain or fever.”
The statistics have been compiled since March 1. Beaumont’s daily numbers will vary from the State of Michigan due to processing times.
Beaumont Health also launched a free online COVID-19 risk assessment tool yesterday, March 18. It allows patients to answer a series of questions about their symptoms and help them determine whether to stay home or seek medical attention. Within the first 24 hours, more than 27,500 people visited the site and clicked on the risk assessment tool.
To use the free online risk assessment tool, visit: beaumont.org/coronavirus