Beebe Healthcare wants our community to stay informed of the latest health concerns. Information on this page is gathered through the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and World Health Organization (WHO).
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The best resource for general questions on Coronavirus is the Division of Public Health Coronavirus Call Center.
The State will be answering questions for those who call 1-866-408-1899 (8:30-4:30 M-F), or email dphcall@delaware.gov.
Testing, Screening, & Treatment At Beebe
Concerned you might have COVID-19? If you have a primary care provider, call the office. If you do not have a provider, call Beebe's Coronavirus Screening Line: 302-645-3200.
Beebe is providing Referral-Based Testing for those who have already completed screening questions. Call your provider's office to be screened and if testing is needed, your provider will provide you with a physician order. An appointment will be made by Beebe. Walk-ups will not be accepted.
Beebe is proud to partner with the Blood Bank of Delmarva to use Convalescent Plasma collected during blood draws as a treatment method for those hospitalized with COVID-19.
Beebe Opens COVID Positive Care Center in Georgetown
Beebe Medical Group has opened a COVID Positive Care Center in Georgetown. Patients in need of face-to-face care related to the virus can receive services that may include provider visits, respiratory care, imaging and lab services. The Center is for those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or those who are suspected of having COVID-19. It is by appointment only. Your provider can provide a referral and Beebe will call you to make an appointment. If you do not have a provider, call the Coronavirus Screening Line at 302-645-3200 to be screened and have an appointment scheduled.
The COVID Positive Care Center, located at the Georgetown Walk-In at 21635 Biden Avenue, Suite 101, Georgetown, will provide care for COVID-19 positive patients and patients who are suspected to have COVID-19 who need direct care but do not need to be hospitalized.
Feeling Sick? Schedule a Telemedicine Appointment at Home
To provide access to healthcare for residents practicing social and physical distancing at home during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Beebe Medical Group is offering telemedicine visits across all offices – specialty, primary, and walk-in care. During the first week of April, more than 1,000 visits were conducted across all of Beebe Medical Group.
Beebe Healthcare Visitor Restrictions
*Note: The information and best policies regarding COVID-19 are changing frequently. Please visit our website for the latest updates.
Beebe Healthcare is continuing to evaluate the rapidly changing information about coronavirus (COVID-19), and we take the health and safety of our team members, medical staff, patients and visitors seriously.
When coming to the Lewes Campus, use the Emergency Department entrance only if you are coming to the Emergency Department. If you are a visitor, vendor, team member, etc., use either the Patient Pick-Up (flagpole - east side) Entrance or use the West Main Entrance. Each person entering the facility will be screened.
Special circumstances do allow for visitation.
One healthy visitor is permitted as follows:
- Pediatric patients – preferred parent, guardian, caretaker
- Palliative care or hospice patients
- Specialty physician outpatient visits
- Labor and delivery
- Patients undergoing procedure or surgical procedure including urgent or emergent surgery at Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus.
This Visitor Policy is in effect for all of Beebe Healthcare, which include: the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus, Emergency Department, Same Day Surgery, Cardiac Catheterization Lab and Diagnostic Services at the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus; Surgery and Endoscopy Centers, Tunnell Cancer Center, Rehabilitation Services Centers, Diagnostic Imaging Centers, Lab Express Centers, Beebe Medical Group Physician Practices, Walk-in Centers, etc.
We realize that this might be a hindrance for some, and we apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. But we feel that taking this precaution now in order to protect the safety of those in our facilities is our highest priority.
All Beebe Team Members Will Be Wearing Masks
The CDC announced from recent studies on COVID-19 that a portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms or who are pre-symptomatic can transmit the virus to others. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms, according to the CDC.
In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain like at grocery stores and pharmacies, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.
Based on these CDC guidelines, all non-direct patient care Beebe team members will be issued a cloth mask starting the week of April 6 in preparation for Delaware’s surge of COVID-19 patients.
“We have seen our numbers of positive cases, hospitalizations, and sadly our death toll rise over the past few weeks. Sussex County will continue to see an increase in patients with COVID-19, and Beebe Healthcare will need to take up the fight,” said Dr. David Tam, President & CEO of Beebe Healthcare. “I am here to assure you our organization is ready to care for people during this uncertain time. We have done all that we can to make sure we have as much supplies and resources as possible when national resources are strained and the country is placing appropriate priorities to severely impacted areas such as New York and Washington.”
“I call on you again to follow the CDC, WHO, and State guidance of social / physical distancing, to wash your hands correctly, and limit your activities out of the home as much as possible.” READ MORE.
Beebe is suspending all elective outpatient testing, screening, and physical rehabilitation services
To continue the effort to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), Beebe Healthcare is suspending all non-urgent diagnostic testing, physical rehabilitation, and screenings. This includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, cardiac rehab, pulmonary rehab.
Beebe is postponing all non-urgent outpatient diagnostic exams and services for at least 6 weeks (May 4) and will re-evaluate as we approach that date.
Full listing and information here.
COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving situation. We will provide updates as they become available. If you have questions about whether an appointment is still happening, call your provider or testing location.
Influenza (Flu)
Getting an annual flu shot is the best way to prevent influenza. Beebe Healthcare hosts several free flu clinics throughout the fall and winter months.
Click here for more information about flu, including symptoms from the CDC.
Zika Virus
Some Questions & Answers:
Q: What are the symptoms of Zika?
A: The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Symptoms typically begin two to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. About one in five people infected with Zika will get sick.
Q: How is Zika transmitted?
A: Zika is primarily transmitted through
mosquito bite when the mosquito bites a person already infected with the virus and then bites someone else. There is also growing evidence that men can transmit the virus to women during sexual activity. There is no evidence that Zika can be spread through casual contact like kissing, hugging, etc. The virus can also be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her baby during pregnancy or around the time of birth. We do not know how often Zika is transmitted from mother to baby during pregnancy or around the time of birth.
Q: Who is at risk of being infected?
A: Anyone who is living in, or traveling to, an area where Zika virus transmission is currently occuring or women who have male sexual partners who have traveled to these areas.
Click here for the full information from the Delaware Division of Public Health.
Via Delaware Division of Public Health: Zika is generally transmitted through bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes. The mosquito that most commonly transmits Zika (Aedes aegypti), as well as dengue and chikungunya, is very rare in Delaware. However, in Delaware we do have another Aedes species of concern for possible transmission of Zika, the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus. Local Zika transmission via a mosquito is possible once mosquito season starts but it depends on a variety of factors. We are working with DNREC’s Mosquito Control Section to prepare for that possibility.
Most people who are infected with Zika do not develop symptoms. About one in five people infected with the virus develop the disease, and symptoms are generally mild. Anyone who lives or travels in the impacted areas can be infected. The most common symptoms of Zika virus are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Symptoms typically begin two to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. It can also be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her baby during pregnancy or around the time of birth. It is not yet known how often Zika is transmitted from mother to baby. In very rare cases, there have been documented cases of sexual transmission from male to female.
The most serious threat linked to Zika is serious birth defects. While it generally presents as a mild illness, there have been reports of serious birth defects to infants whose mother contracted the virus while pregnant. Microcephaly (https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/microcephaly.html), a condition in which a baby’s head is smaller than expected when compared to babies of the same sex and age, and other poor pregnancy outcomes in babies of mothers are now being linked to the virus.
As a result, the Division of Public Health (DPH) is focusing its messaging and awareness on preventing exposure to pregnant women and their partners.
If you are pregnant and have traveled outside the country or believe you may have contracted the Zika virus, please talk to your physician as soon as possible. Here is a Q&A about Zika for pregnant women.
Additional Zika Information Materials include:
• DPH Zika e-newsletter: general info and important links
• Flyer targeting pregnant women for posting in medical/other locations (English)
• Flyer targeting pregnant women for posting in medical/other locations (Spanish; en espanol)
You may also find the DPH Zika webpage helpful: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/zika.html
Lyme Disease & Tick-borne Illnesses
According to the World Health Organization: Lyme disease (Lyme Borreliosis) is caused by Borrelia bacteria and is transmitted through the bite of infected deer ticks (of the Ixodes species). Many species of mammals can be infected and rodents and deer act as important reservoirs.
The first recognized outbreak of this disease occurred in Connecticut, United States, in 1975. The current burden is estimated at 7.9 cases per 100 000 people in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Delaware Division of Public Health says in Delaware, the most common tick-borne disease is Lyme disease, which is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected deer ticks. There were 418 Lyme disease cases in Delaware in 2014. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is diagnosed much less frequently in the First State with only 24 cases in 2014. Symptoms of Lyme disease can include a “bull’s-eye” rash (seen in approximately half of Lyme disease cases in Delaware), fever, fatigue, headache, and muscle and joint aches. Chronic joint, heart, and neurological problems may occur. It usually takes 24 to 36 hours of attachment before a tick transmits a disease.
Find more information from the Delaware Division of Public Health here.
Mosquito-borne Illnesses
According to the Delaware Division of Public Health: Mosquitoes can carry West Nile virus (WNV), Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), and several other diseases that cause brain inflammation (encephalitis) and can be fatal to humans and animals. Approximately 80 percent of human WNV infections are mild and cause no apparent symptoms. The other 20 percent develop a mild illness (West Nile fever), which includes fever, body and muscle aches, headache, nausea, vomiting, and a rash. A small percentage of patients, usually the elderly, develop severe neurological disease that results in meningitis or encephalitis.
Key facts (World Health Organization):
- West Nile virus can cause a fatal neurological disease in humans.
- However, approximately 80% of people who are infected will not show any symptoms.
- West Nile virus is mainly transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
- The virus can cause severe disease and death in horses.
- Vaccines are available for use in horses but not yet available for people.
- Birds are the natural hosts of West Nile virus.
Learn more about West Nile virus here.
Ebola
April 2015: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in partnership with the Sierra Leone College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), is now enrolling and vaccinating volunteers for the Sierra Leone Trial to Introduce a Vaccine against Ebola (STRIVE). This study will assess the safety and efficacy of the rVSV-ZEBOV candidate Ebola vaccine among health and other frontline workers.
“A safe and effective vaccine would be a very important tool to stop Ebola in the future, and the frontline workers who are volunteering to participate are making a decision that could benefit health care professionals and communities wherever Ebola is a risk,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “We hope this vaccine will be proven effective but in the meantime we must continue doing everything necessary to stop this epidemic —find every case, isolate and treat, safely and respectfully bury the dead, and find every single contact.”
STRIVE will enroll about 6,000 health and other frontline workers. It will be conducted in Western Area Urban district, which includes Freetown, Western Area Rural district, and certain chiefdoms in Bombali, Port Loko, and Tonkolili districts. These study locations were selected because they have been heavily affected by the Ebola outbreak in the past few months.
World Health Organization Fact Sheet
As of October 29, 2014, Delaware does not have any confirmed cases of ebola. From the CDC: "The 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in West Africa. Although the risk of an Ebola outbreak in the United States is very low, CDC and partners are taking precautions to prevent this from happening." On September 30, 2014, the first case of Ebola in the United States was reported by a hospital in Texas. This Texas patient, who has since died, had contact with Ebola while traveling outside the United States. Ebola is only spread through contact with bodily fluids. Since this case, two healthcare workers have contracted Ebola. Learn more here.
As of October 20, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Nigeria Ebola-free. For more on the WHO outreach on Ebola, click here.
To download the information sheet being handed out at the hospital, click here for a PDF file.
Spanish information sheet here and letter here.
Enterovirus 68
Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is one of more than 100 non-polio enteroviruses. Since EV-D68 causes respiratory illness, the virus can be found in an infected person’s respiratory secretions, such as saliva, nasal mucus, or sputum. EV-D68 likely spreads from person to person when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or touches a surface that is then touched by others. Learn more from the CDC here.