Tips: Traveling to Mayo to get medical care safely during COVID-19

I am scheduled to be at Mayo Rochester in mid June for 2 days of appointments and tests for post transplant annual check-up. My biggest concern is getting from home in Kentucky to Minnesota. My husband and I drive the 750+ miles one way, and we break the trip into a 2-day drive with an overnight along the way. And we will do 2 or 3 nights in Rochester before heading back home.
We plan to keep watching the updates about the coronavirus activity in the 5 states that we will be passing thru. And will be checking the CDC and local govt health sites before we make a firm decision. I do feel a bit of an advantage because we do have 30+ days before my appointment. As my appointment time gets closer I will contact my transplant coordinator and share any of my travel/visit concerns with her.

Since I am a transplant recipient of 11 years, my husband and I are already accustomed to safe hygeine practices which are our normal routine. We are both retired and it has been easy for us to stay at home since mid March. When we get home, we will self-isolate.

I have been to Rochester site multiple times in last few weeks. This week there was more patients then few weeks ago. Some of the employees that were working from home are back to seeing patients in person. Some departments are still only doing virtual appoints, others are starting to see patients at clinic.

The Mayo clinic employees have been going through lot of changes. Some clinic employees have been furlough, others doing job of multiple co-workers, others reassigned to new areas, and some services may not be available. So please remember that the changes due to COVID are stressful to both patients and employees.

Here are few things you will find different then few months ago.
- Before you go, may get call from Mayo employee going over COVID-19 information.
- There is limit on visitors, check web site if bringing anyone with you.
- Arrive early, the screening process will take extra time.
- Parking ramps are open, and you have to pay again. I use charge card because do not want to handle money.
- I do not think valet service is currently available, check mayo site for latest info.
- Bring a mask, all employee and patients are required to wear a mask.
- All elevators have an occupancy limit (5 or 6). So be prepared to wait till there is one with room.
- When enter any clinic building, 1st they will take your temp. Then another person will ask questions if you have been tested, been around anyone exposed to COVID or have list of symptoms. I answered no to all questions. If answer yes, I think you have to have additional screening. You will get a sticker with the day of week to wear while in clinic buildings. .
- You are not required to have COVID test for appointment, but if having procedure or surgery, it may be required.

I try to avoid touching surfaces, but that is impossible, so I use the hand sanitizers located around clinic. One advantage of wearing a mask, it keeps me from touching my face.

One thing I have found helpful is to keep hand sanitizer in car. I use every time I get back in car and before I take my mask off.

Have a safe trip
Laurie

I have an appointment at the clinic in Rochester on the 21st but they have not informed me I need to come two days early for a Covid test?

You may want to check with them

@migizii only some tests or procedures may require COVID-19 testing beforehand to ensure safety. These will be arranged at each specific Mayo Clinic location. You may wish to call or post a question on the patient portal to see if your appointment requires COVID-19 testing. It likely doesn't since you've not been informed about this requirement, but it is better to ask to be sure.

See more details here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/covid-19

Migizii, will you be staying for more than a day? What preparations are you considering for your visit?

Thx for your response. I will put in a question in the portal. Right now, it is scheduled for a one day visit unless something turns up (which I hope nothing does). My husband will be the driver and I will be stocking up on wipes, hand sanitizer, food and snacks, and gloves for the trip. It’s 6 hours from our house one-way and since I’m gluten free, I’m used to packing my own food. All the other things will be new additions to my toolkit. If anyone has other ideas, please let me know😊 of course, my trusty iPad will be with me for entertainment, along with a good book!

@msherfinski, do you know about the free Concierge Services at Mayo Clinic?
The staff at the concierge desk can help with hotel recommendations, according to your wishes of proximity, price and space requirements. They can also let you know about restaurants who are serving during this time and take out options. You can even ask them about fishing as I think you were hoping to get down to the river during your stay. You can contact Concierge Services by email, phone, chat or in person during business hours:

* Phone: 507-538-8438
* Live Chat: https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide
* Email: concierge@mayo.edu

Lawrence @lmindela can tell you more.

Thanks for inquiring. Right now, it is a one day appointment (unless something turns up, which I hope doesn’t). My husband will do the driving (6hours one way) and I will be packing wipes, hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, and food/snacks. I’m used to packing food as I’m gluten food but now I will have other things in my toolkit! Of course, I will have my iPad for entertainment and a good book😊. If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know. I will put a message in the portal regarding any Covid testing.

Thanks for the info Colleen! I will give them a call tomorrow.

Mark, since you will be staying overnight in Rochester, what precautions do you plan to take regarding food and hotel? Have you thought about calling ahead to find out if they have a fridge or what cleaning and santitizing protocols they are practising?

Hilton hotels & resorts partnered with Mayo Clinic Experts from Mayo Clinic’s Infection Prevention and Control team to advise and assist in enhancing Hilton’s cleaning and disinfection protocols in all their hotels. If you are visiting Rochester and staying at either Doubletree, Hilton Garden Inn or The Hilton Rochester Mayo Clinic area there cleaning protocol is as follows;

1. What cleaning protocols are you following at this time? (We are finding this to be a common question.). We have applied extremely throughout and robust cleaning programs at our hotels. Additionally, we have implemented many key components of the newly released Hilton Corporate Clean Stay Program, providing hospital grade cleaning to our hotel rooms.

All Employees: All team members wear masks while in guest facing areas.

Front Desk:
• Continuous disinfecting of front desk and common touch points.
• Disinfectant of pens (or other materials) after each guest use.
• Guest room key cards that are returned to the front desk are set aside and disinfected before going back into rotation.

Concierge/Executive Lounge:
• Touch points and common areas in Executive Lounge are disinfected hourly.

Guestrooms:
• In-room collateral that cannot be disinfected has been removed (examples: menus, hotel directories, other notifications, etc.)
• Rooms on day of arrival are being disinfected with Ecolab Peroxide Multi-surface clean and disinfectant, a fast acting, hospital grade chemical. This takes place throughout the guestroom and certainly in Hilton's noted 10-high touch point areas (please see attached graphic).
• The efforts above are in addition to traditional housekeeping services.

Public Spaces:
• Public spaces and touch points (hand rails, elevator buttons, guest laundry, etc.) are continuously disinfected throughout the day (multiple times per day).
• Hand sanitizing dispensers have been placed in all entrance points, as well as and common public areas (i.e. elevator banks).

Bell/Transportation:
• Bell staff are required pre-shift screening, which includes taking of temperature. In addition, they are required to wear masks at all times.
• The hotel courtesy vehicles are disinfected between each use.
• Valet parking: Bell staff is required to wear mask and gloves. The guests vehicle is sanitized in areas such as driver seat, steering wheel, door handles, etc.

Available to Guests:
• Disinfectants as well as sterile rags are available for individual guest use (should they wish to take independent precautions).

Housekeeping services are willing and able to accommodate the needs of our guests. Turn down service, switching of guestroom linens and requesting additional supplies are happily accommodated. It is certainly the goal of the hotel to provide our guests the highest level of comfort and security that we are able to.

2. What is the status of your shuttle service and what cleaning procedures are they following?
Bell/Transportation:
• Bell staff are required pre-shift screening, which includes taking of temperature. In addition, they are required to wear masks at all times.
• The hotel courtesy vehicles are disinfected between each use.
• Valet parking: Bell staff is required to wear mask and gloves. The guests vehicle is sanitized in areas such as driver seat, steering wheel, door handles, etc.