Protecting Our Patients

10 Ways We’re Safe, Equipped and Ready to Serve You

Cancer patients are uniquely vulnerable to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) because their immune systems are compromised by their cancer and treatment. To protect the health and safety of our patients, Baptist Cancer Center has taken special precautions.

1. We screen everyone on our campus for COVID-19 symptoms. That includes our employees. We take the temperature of everyone entering a Baptist Cancer Center location. If we suspect that a patient has COVID-19 based on this screening, we will arrange for immediate nasal swab testing.
2. We test asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. Baptist Cancer Center is testing all new patients for COVID-19 prior to starting radiation therapy, stem cell transplants, certain therapy infusions, and procedures that induce significant coughing. While outside test results are helpful to share with your care team, they may not replace Baptist Cancer Center’s COVID-19 testing if your care team requests it for you.
3. We ask everyone to wear surgical face masks on our campuses at all times. Every patient will be given a surgical face mask when arriving on campus, even if the patient has his or her own cloth face covering. Please wear this face mask the entire time you are on our campus for your safety and that of other patients and employees.
4. No visitors are allowed, with limited exceptions. Since the onset of the pandemic, Baptist Cancer Center has not allowed any visitors, including family members or personal caregivers, at any of our locations. Limited exceptions may be made as determined by your health care team. Patients are encouraged to include family members and loved ones in appointments via FaceTime or other video conferencing platforms. This will continue until further notice.
5. We encourage social distancing. Please maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from others while on our campuses. We have limited seating in our reception areas to help with this.
6. We care for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in separate areas. To protect patients and help reduce the spread of COVID-19, we have a dedicated area for patients who are confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19. We also have separate staff available to care for these patients to protect all patients.
7. We schedule more virtual visits. Baptist Cancer Center is scheduling more virtual visits to allow patients to get the care they need without leaving home. At this time, virtual visits are available for existing Baptist Cancer Center patients who have a clinic follow-up visit or a consult visit with a provider.
8. We limit the number of employees on our campuses. To protect our patients and direct caregivers, nonessential employees are working remotely. Employees who must be on campus, but aren’t involved in direct patient care, work in separate areas from patients.
9. We participate in advanced studies, COVID-19 national registries and clinical trials. Baptist Cancer Center is participating in a National Cancer Institute study to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 infection on cancer patients. The study will help determine how best to deliver care and services to patients affected by COVID-19. Baptist Cancer Center has also been able to continue many of our clinical research studies during this difficult time to ensure patients have access to lifesaving treatments that they could not receive outside of a clinical trial.
10. Provide virtual support programs. Because large gatherings pose an increased risk for the spread of COVID-19, Baptist Cancer Center has postponed on-campus patient programs and conferences until further notice. However, we recognize how important support programs are for our patients and their families. So Baptist Cancer Center is now offering many virtual programs, such as online support groups. For more information, contact Ellen Eisen at ellen.eisen@bmhcc.org.

As we learn to live with the coronavirus in our community, Baptist Cancer Center remains responsive to the needs of our patients and employees. And we’ll continue to evolve our response to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure we are safe, equipped and ready to serve you.

If you have questions or concerns specific to your care at Baptist Cancer Center, please send a message directly to your care team via MyChart.