Some medical offices reopen in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — Part of the state is officially reopening with some healthcare services leading the way.

But they’re following a lot of new guidelines from the state like having people wait in their cars and wear masks.

Now, a trip to the doctor’s office won’t look like it once did, like for Dr. Daniel Mongiardo’s practice, the Sleep and Sinus Center in Lexington.

His waiting room looks different because chairs are now six feet apart, patients are wearing masks and many aren’t even there.

“We’re seeing about a third of the patients that we normally see on a typical day, today,” says Dr. Daniel Mongiardo, former lieutenant governor during Steve Beshear’s administration.

He says that’s on purpose. Dr. Mongiardo’s spacing patients out, but people are also concerned about visiting.

“But we want them to know we’re doing everything we can to keep them as safe as possible,” says Mongiardo.

Like having an ionized hydrogen peroxide air purification system in his waiting room to reduce the spread of viruses and other contamination.

“That bombards bacteria and viruses so it cleans on surfaces, under surfaces constantly,” says Dr. Mongiardo.

He believes he’s the only doctor using the system locally but doesn’t want to be. He got in touch with the state medical association to encourage others to use it.

“I think it is important to keep our patients safe,” says Mongiardo.

Another way he’s keeping patients safe is only allowing one person inside the exam room.
And every staff member wears a mask.

“We do have masks now that are more construction-type masks but they’re still the N-95 masks. They’re still not the healthcare masks,” says Dr. Mongiardo.

Being closed hasn’t only taken a financial hit on his practice but also on his patients’ health. He says healthcare issues that have gone unattended for several weeks are likely even worse.

“I think we’re gonna have a backlog when people finally start to come back and get treated,” says Mongiardo.

But he says there is some positive.

“This crisis has allowed us to look elsewhere to try to solve some of the problems that we’ve been having in healthcare for a long time,” says Dr. Mongiardo.

He wants his patients to know their safety is top priority.

To learn more about Dr. Mongiardo’s practice, click here.