COVID-19
Caring for You and Your Family During COVID-19
Managing Stress During the Pandemic
Stay Safe with the 3 W's
Covid-19 Updates
COVID-19
As COVID-19 continues to be active in our state and across the country, Nashville General Hospital remains committed to delivering safe and effective care for our patients and their families. In order to help you better understand COVID-19, including the symptoms, risks, and ways to protect yourself and others, we’ve compiled the information below.
What is COVID-19?
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the new coronavirus that emerged at the end of 2019. It typically causes mild to moderate respiratory disease in humans, but it can also cause more severe and even fatal infections in older or compromised individuals.
COVID-19 is spread from person to person through respiratory droplets, which occur when someone sneezes or coughs. That’s why it’s important to avoid close, unprotected contact with a sick person, and to avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes if you've touched a contaminated surface.
Symptoms
- Fever
- Chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Sore throat
- Muscle aches
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Nasal congestion
- Loss of smell or taste
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
More serious symptoms include:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Chest pain or pressure
- Loss of speech of movement
Use our doctor-generated symptom care guides to help you decide what care is needed, if any and how to provide symptom relief.
When to Seek Care
If your symptoms are mild, stay home and call your doctor. If at all possible, avoid going to the Emergency Room because you could contaminate others. This is a very contagious disease.
Call your healthcare provider if you:
- Have symptoms
- Have been in contact with someone who has the virus
- Have been out of the country
If you have serious symptoms, seek immediate medical attention. But always call before visiting your doctor or health facility.
On average it takes 5–6 days from when someone is infected with the virus for symptoms to appear — but it can take as long as 14 days.
How to Avoid
There are some simple steps you can follow to decrease your chances of catching the virus:
- Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently
- Use hand sanitizer
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
- Cough or sneeze into your elbow
- Wear a mask in public spaces
- Observe proper social distancing
How to Stay Connected
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it challenging for families to stay in touch with loved ones. But there are still ways to share time together even when you have to be separated physically.
Share a video call
Zoom, FaceTime, Skype and other apps make it easy.
Outdoor get-togethers
Enjoy some socially-distanced backyard or driveway time where everyone brings their own food and drink.
Window visits
These can be especially meaningful for elderly or vulnerable loved ones.
Rediscover snail mail
It can give anyone an incredible emotional boost to get a card, letter or gift in the mail.
What We're Doing
Your health is our number one priority. So we’re taking multiple steps to ensure that our hospitals, clinics, and outpatient services remain safe:
- Patient areas are set up to ensure proper social distancing
- Hand sanitizer and masks are widely available
- All care team members and patients are required to wear masks
- All patients, visitors, and staff are screened before entering the facility
- Surfaces throughout the building are actively disinfected / cleaned frequently
Make A Plan
Having a plan for how you and your family will respond to any potential illness or hospitalization can help reduce stress in the event of an emergency. And that’s even more important now during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are some helpful steps from the CDC to start a plan for your family. (Review the full list here.)
- Find phone numbers for your physician, pediatrician, pharmacist, counselor, and veterinarian.
- Collect and protect important paperwork, such as advance directives (living wills, power of attorney forms, etc.).
- Ask a friend or relative who lives outside of the immediate area — preferably in another state — to be your family’s Out-of-Town Contact.
- Identify a shelter-in-place location inside your home, as well as a “sick room" that can be used to separate sick household members from those who are healthy.
- Locate boarding facilities or animal hospitals where you can lodge your pets in an evacuation.
- Ask your employer and your child’s school or daycare for copies and an explanation of their emergency plans.