More than Medicine

Watson Clinic Urgent Care Treating Body and Mind in Trying Times

- TERESA SCHIFFER

AS THE WORLD REELS from the devastating effects of COVID-19, people are realizing the value of employees in essential industries, such as grocery store workers, delivery services, and especially healthcare professionals. Those in the medical field are facing a crisis like none other, and they are dealing with it with grace, courage, and determination. Each day, healthcare providers must adapt quickly to new procedures and safety precautions.

Watson Clinic Urgent Care was quick to prepare for the influx of local coronavirus cases. The organization separated the waiting rooms and began planning for how they would test patients. Soon, it was screening all patients as they arrived for care. Negative pressure rooms are used to test patients, and those who test positive for COVID-19 are brought in through a separate entrance. Masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) were assigned to staff.

Dr. Jarett Gregory has been with Watson Clinic for eight of his 14 years practicing medicine. With COVID-19 weighing heavily on everyone’s minds, he has found himself counseling patients not only on their physical health, but on their mental health as well, as patients fret about lost income and other ramifications of the state’s mandatory shutdown. The Watson Clinic Urgent Care South location opened in January and was soon affected by the pandemic, as the number of patients being seen for regular care plummeted. Gregory was touched by the number of individuals and businesses reaching out with support in the form of donations of masks, gowns, other PPE, and food.