how much his patients enjoyed the experience. "The
patient satisfaction surveys were at 98%," he says.
For added protection, the facility took the neces-
sary safety precautions, including social distancing
and allowing only one patient in the waiting room at
a time. They also installed acrylic intubation boxes,
which have two holes drilled in the back for the
nurse anesthetist and another on the side at a 90-
degree angle through which the physician manuev-
ers endoscopes during upper GI exams.
Dr. Kim admits it's hard to make his patients
feel safe when safety guidelines are rapidly chang-
ing. Just days before
Thanksgiving, Pennsylvania
announced that anyone traveling
outside the state had to quaran-
tine for 14 days or have a nega-
tive COVID-19 test within 72
hours of their appointment.
"Luckily, we have an intake man-
ager who stays on top of these
guidelines to keep staff and
patients informed," he says.
Due to the constant changes in
local pandemic response proto-
cols, Dr. Kim makes sure his staff
and patients are aware of the
safety precautions in place at the
facility. He says his center's web-
site is frequently updated to
reflect that it is 100% compliant
with the state's protocols.
Dr. Kim says clear two-way
communication with patients is
essential. The facility set up an
intake management system where
patients can submit needed infor-
mation before procedures, so
patients spend as little time as
possible filling out paperwork on
the day of their procedures.
Additionally, patients' drivers stay
in their cars and receive text mes-
sage updates when procedures
are done. "We coordinate having
the minimum number of people in
the center, and it actually works
quite well," says Dr. Kim.
Laura Young, RN, director of
nursing at Greenwood (S.C.)
Endoscopy Center, says advertis-
ing their safety measures was key
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