Excela ER doctor takes precautions; donations sought for protective equipment

After 15 years of practicing in Excela Health emergency rooms, Dr. Greg Harbaugh has added a new twist to his daily routine.

Every day when he arrives home, Harbaugh strips down in the garage, places his clothing in a plastic bag, dumps the contents in the washing machine and heads straight to the shower. His shoes remain in the garage. Any medical equipment stays in his car.

It’s all part of doing everything possible to keep his wife and three teenage children safe from the coronavirus that causes covid-19.

It’s just one strategy the Hempfield emergency room physician and his colleagues have come up with to deal with the invisible threat that has closed down much of America.

“We’re all sharing information. I think the biggest thing is, you don’t want to get anyone else sick,” Harbaugh said.

He said he has seen several patients with covid-19. Unlike emergency rooms in New York and New Jersey that are overrun with covid-19 patients, Excela’s emergency rooms in Greensburg, Latrobe and Mt. Pleasant actually are seeing a decline in volume, Harbaugh said.

“Normally, volumes keep going up and up and up. But, the good thing about this is, it shows people are heeding advice about social distancing and are only coming in for true emergencies,” he said in a telephone interview this week , shortly before starting a 10-hour shift.

Excela managed to provide surgical masks for patients and N95 masks, gowns, eye protection and gloves for those treating patients, Harbaugh said.

“There’s a lot of angst and stories out there about not having enough supplies. You have to take care of what you have,” he said.

Looking for more

Excela Health is accepting donations of various healthcare-related supplies, such as masks, gowns and gloves, at its three hospitals, said Al Novak Jr., the health system’s vice president and chief development officer.

To obtain these items on the open market, Excela has to compete with other hospitals, nursing homes, ambulance services and non-healthcare-related businesses for personal protective equipment, Novak said.

“They are all looking for these things,” he said.

A sewing group is making homemade covers to replace the covers on masks, Novak said. Excela has a pattern that sewers can uses to make the covers.

The health system is seeking donations of elastic to be used to make masks, as well as masks and glovess, Novak said. Donations of hand sanitizer and bottled water also are welcome.

As of Friday morning, Excela Health had 20 confirmed covid-19 patients being cared for along with 12 patients under investigation.

The state Department of Health has reported more than 200 coronavirus cases in Westmoreland County as of Friday. There had been 11 deaths in the county related to covid-19 as of Friday, Coroner Ken Bacha said.

“It is in anticipation of what is to come. You’ve got to be ready,” Novak said.

As for advice to friends and neighbors, Harbaugh reiterated the tenets experts have offered for weeks:

“The most important advice is the most basic — wash your hands and assume anything could be contaminated, so take the extra time to wash your produce well and wipe down other items within reason,” he said. “Give others the benefit of the doubt, and be patient as we get through this difficult time.”

Deb Erdley and Joe Napsha are Tribune-Review staff writers. You can contact Deb at 724-850-1209, derdley@triblive.com or via Twitter @deberdley_trib. Contact Joe at 724-836-5252, jnapsha@triblive.com or via Twitter @jnapsha.