[ March 23, 2020 ] Piedmont Mountainside Hospital has installed a mobile unit that can expand its emergency department if needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mobile unit, which is located outside of the Emergency Department, is not a COVID-19 testing center. It will be reserved for patients who are seeking emergency care, but who do not have respiratory symptoms.

"In addition to increasing capacity, the mobile unit will allow us to care for patients who don?t have respiratory symptoms in a different location from patients who do have respiratory symptoms," said Denise Ray, CEO of Piedmont Mountainside Hospital. ?Most importantly, this offers a way to make sure we're able to offer high-quality care to people in our community in the most efficient way possible."

The addition of the mobile unit is the latest of a number of efforts at Piedmont Mountainside aimed at protecting patients, visitors and staff from exposure to coronavirus.

From the beginning of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, Piedmont has worked closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies, including the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), to stay up-to-date with the latest information.

It?s important to understand that the situation is evolving every day, and as the CDC changes its guidelines, we, in turn, are updating our practices to follow the latest best practices and protocols.