GARDNER — Wingard Brown, president of Heywood Healthcare, said in a recent update that 367 people, both in-patient and out-patient, have now been tested for the COVID-19 virus in the Gardner-Athol area. Of the results that have come back, there have been 155 negative findings, while 23 people have tested positive. The remaining results are pending. Brown said that translates to a positive rate of 12.9% for those tested.
“In house at Heywood,” he said, “we have 13 patients that are under investigation, meaning we have 13 patients who are being treated as if they have COVID-19, but we do not have their definitive test results yet. And there are six confirmed positive patients under our care right now.”
Brown then expressed appreciation to the public at large.
“Thank you all for your constant vigilance,” he said, “staying home if you’re not working, and not going out very often to shop and do those kinds of things. You can see that the positive numbers across the country, across Massachusetts, and in our region are continuing to grow. If we’re going to flatten the curve, as we all talk about, we’re going to need stay home and with our families, and not going out unless we definitely have to. And, obviously, hand hygiene is incredibly important.
“Please, please, please,” Brown implored, “don’t get complacent. Stay hyper-vigilant.”
He closed by offering some advice.
“If you’re not feeling well and you do have flu-like symptoms,” he explained, “the first line of defense is to call your primary care physician. First or second is also to go to one of urgent cares where we have a track set up to take care of patients who have flu-like symptoms, and do the testing off-site, outside of the hospital and outside of the physician practices. Please know that those are there.”
On a lighter, Brown gave a shout-out to the nurses on Heywood’s obstetrics unit.
“(On Sunday) they bought lunch and sent pizza over to the nurses and staff on Watkins 1, in support of their colleagues,” he said. “So, that was just really a nice surprise for all the staff there, and really nice of our OB nurses. We have the best OB nurses and maternity department in New England, so it’s no surprise to me they’re supporting their fellow colleagues.”
In addition to Heywood and Athol hospitals, Heywood Healthcare also operates Heywood Urgent Care and the Tully Walk-In Care Center. The Gardner facility is located at 266 Main St., near CVS and Wallgreens. The number is (978) 669-5959. Tully Walk-In is at 81 Reservoir Drive and may be reached at (978) 248-5135.