MENTOR, Ohio — Health care workers are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking care of patients with the disease and others who still need care.
To help take some of the load off their colleagues, some specialists are opening up their offices to treat patients suffering from cuts, small burns, wounds and skin infections to cut down on the amount of people going to emergency rooms.
Mentor-based Dr. Jennifer Greer, M.D. is opening up her office, Greer Plastics, to those patients. She said the more than specialists can help out health care workers in hospitals the better.
Greer typically does a lot of elective, cosmetic surgeries but hasn't been able to do them because of Governor Mike DeWine's order postponing all elective surgeries to conserve PPE.
She said another plastic surgeon suggested they open their offices up to local ERs. If those ERs became overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, they could send patients to the specialists for treatment.
Instead, Greer took it one step further, and began posting to social media, offering her services to those looking for treatment. She said it can help offset the amount of people going to the ER, so doctors there can focus on coronavirus cases.
“All of us dermatologists and ophthalmologists and plastic surgeons, we still did basic training. I can't function as an intensive care doctor but I can function as a darn good resident for one and really offload a lot of work. So I think we're all happy to help out in any way we can, which is why we're still keeping our offices open," Greer said. “I’ve been able to triage over the phone. I've had people text me pictures of cuts. In a couple cases, it was something I could easily take care of in the office. A couple other cases didn't even need stitches. And I was just able to give them instructions on how to take care of the wound."
Greer said patients can call her office even after typical office hours. Greer Plastics can be reached at 440-974-8577. Patients should press 2 to be connected to Greer's cell phone after office hours.
