There are a host of reasons why I want to avoid the hospital emergency room right now at all costs.
The first reason in mind is my horrible credit rating.
I just dipped below 600 points after an old hospital bill went into collections. It was regarding an emergency room visit while I was suffering from an excruciating bout of food poisoning. I was being careless when cooking with raw chicken and then accidentally ingested bacteria that had me out for more than three days straight. The high bill makes me really upset when I remember that I could have avoided the entire situation by paying attention to what I was doing. I called the financial assistance office at the hospital and was actually able to talk them into taking 40% of the bill instead of 100%, however I’m still anxious I won’t be able to pay it off before I try to finance a car next summer. With this in mind, it’s obvious why I’d want to avoid another trip to the ER, regardless of the injury or health concern. The other arguably bigger reason is the virus. There are more people infected in hospitals and the inside becomes a petri dish for viral transmission. Even if the hospital installs HEPA air filters everywhere with UV-C bulbs inside, it’s not enough to assuage my concerns. I only have a few N-95 masks left, plus I have worn them all at least once. I don’t want to be on the receiving end of viral particles that are being blown around the hospital’s interior by their ventilation system. All of the patients being treated for this disease may be within yards of the emergency room, with waiting to be seen in the ER.