Ear, Nose, Throat & Allergy Specialists Now Offering Appointments via Internet
Living in the North Georgia mountains often brings a sense of welcomed isolation from the crowds and busy roads of Atlanta. Ear, Nose, Throat, and Allergy Specialists is a 3-office team of 2 surgeons, 3 nurse practitioners, and 2 audiologists that serve a wide geographical area in North Georgia. Even though we are rural, we have realized we cannot avoid the growing presence of the corona virus, COVID 19, which is affecting the most of the United States and world to some degree.
As a practice, we have had to quickly learn and adapt to keep patients and staff safe. Hospitals have dedicated personnel to develop and implement isolation and infectious disease protocols which help reduce the chance of spread of infection. Fortunately, most of our providers including myself, have lots of hospital experience in dealing with isolation protocols and procedures and applying them to infectious or potentially infectious patients. Over the past 2 weeks, we have began implementing these practices in all of our office locations with success. Our goal is to continue to provide needed care to our patients and eliminate the risk of our patients coming to our offices for treatment.
First, all of our patients are pre-screened on the telephone to ensure they do not have any symptoms of acute cough, cold, or fever. Patients that do have these symptoms are encouraged to increase fluids and rest as well as to use common cold remedies, and reschedule their appointment after they recover. If needed, we help direct them to locations where flu and COVID 19 screening are provided.
When patients arrive for their appointment, our dedicated and knowledgeable staff perform in-person screening for illness and fever which allows us to quickly isolate any potential infectious person. Our diligent phone screening has nearly eliminated the chance of an infectious person coming to the office, but we feel this helps ensure a healthy environment for our patients to be treated in.
To accommodate the needs of our patients, we have now implemented live, one-on-one, Telehealth appointments. If you are an existing patient and do not feel comfortable physically coming to the office, our staff will help you set up a virtual appointment using your computer at home. This allows our patients to remain in contact with us and communicate their needs so we can continue to provide the high level of care we enjoy giving. Please visit this page to learn more information.
On behalf of all of our providers and staff at ENT Specialists, we want to let our patients know that we will continue to provide ongoing support and do our part to keep you safe and healthy. We extend you and your family best wishes, for a safe and healthy experience, as we continue to provide both in-person and virtual visits to our office.
-Josh Snearly, NP-C
Nurse Practitioner