Laurie Deuschel of Rocklin received news during the COVID-19 crisis that breast cancer runs in her family, but during the first two months of the pandemic, mammograms were considered elective scans and weren’t being performed. The first week they became available again, Deuschel got an appointment.
“I’m here to have my first mammogram, and I’m a little bit scared,” she said, but she wasn’t scared about catching the novel coronavirus while at the Sutter Imaging center in Roseville Monday, May 18.
Why? “Sutter Imaging knows the cleaning procedures and how to keep me safe,” she said.
Sutter Health is going to great lengths to protect its patients and staff in the COVID-19 era. It has created a “new normal” for its imaging centers, focused on a “safety strategy” that is incorporating guidance from the national Centers for Disease Control, California Department of Public Health and the American College of Radiology. Some of those measures include:
- Temperature screening of all staff, doctors and patients at the door,
- Universal masking,
- Social distancing in waiting rooms (patients can wait in their cars if they prefer),
- Screening patients at the time of scheduling and arrival for symptoms,
- Deeper cleaning of equipment after every patient,
- Regular sanitization of chairs and door handles,
- Thorough wipe-downs of patient lockers and dressing rooms with a “Cleaned” sign placed for patients and staff to know those areas have been disinfected,
- Regular audits or “double checks” with staff to ensure that the new procedures are being followed.
Miyuki Murphy, M.D., the director of breast imaging for Sutter Medical Group, was interviewed for a story on the Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA, Channel 3. Dr. Murphy explains why not delaying your mammogram is important, and the story includes video of some of the safety measures being taken at Sutter Imaging. Click here for that story on their website.
