During the COVID-19 pandemic, Monash Health has continuously offered care and support for those in our community who are affected by COVID-19.
In response to COVID-19 outbreaks, a state-wide program called the Victorian COVID-19 Positive Care Pathways program was developed to give all patients with coronavirus (COVID-19) access to high-quality care and support at the right time and in the right setting.
Dependent on pre-existing comorbidities and or age, clients are streamed into low, medium and high priority care and are given access to an app where they enter their symptoms which trigger potential escalations through the pathway.
The COVID Care Pathways team in Monash Health Community supports adult and paediatric patients identified as requiring medium-level support who are at risk of deteriorating quickly and require clinical escalation and transitioning to higher levels of care such as ED and inpatient.
Julie White, Director Community Assessment Response and Director of Nursing Monash Health Community, said “the team offers assessments of the patients and manages the positive patients’ symptoms while providing early access to care and easy transition to hospital. The team also undertake swabbing for relatives who become symptomatic and the positive clients who require medications, relief support and further swabbing. Each person on the pathway is delivered a pulse oximeter for monitoring”.
To support people at their homes and to help streamline pathways of care, the COVID Care Pathways team work collaboratively and directly with SEPHU, nominated medical staff from Infectious diseases, General Medicine, ED, Ambulance Victoria and Central Bayside Community Health.
Julia Oxley, General Manager Monash Health Community, said, “the team are doing a remarkable job, in partnership with SEPHU to keep people safe in their home environment and, where necessary, expedite hospital admission”.
We thank the COVID Care Pathways team for their work in supporting and caring for members of our community affected by COVID-19.
Approved by Julia Oxley and Rhonda Stuart.