April 7, 2020
For Anne Rollings Waldrop, dealing with the coronavirus presents a delicate balance in her practice of medicine.
Waldrop graduated from Millsaps in 2012 with a degree in biochemistry before earning her medical degree from The George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. She is currently working as an OB-GYN resident physician at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., far from her hometown of Paducah, Ky. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic has drastically impacted the delivery of medicine across the country, especially in labor, delivery, and emergency gynecologic surgeries.
“There is no way to delay care for these women, and our work and teams must continue to be fully-functioning despite the ongoing concerns of COVID-19,” Waldrop said. “We are doing everything we can to keep both our patients and providers healthy.”
Before the coronavirus pandemic gripped the country, Waldrop’s work involved delivering babies and performing surgeries ranging from cesarean sections to major gynecologic cancer surgeries. In recent weeks, all elective surgeries have been canceled to avoid exposure risks and preserve vital hospital resources.
“In light of this major change, my residency has developed an emergency-response algorithm for care teams to decrease any unnecessary hospital exposures and to ensure we have adequate staffing in the event members of our healthcare team need to quarantine or test positive for COVID-19,” she said.
Waldrop’s advice these days is obviously aligned with the actions being called for across the country.
“It is of the utmost importance that we all do whatever we can to decrease the burden of this virus on our country,” said Waldrop. “For most people, the most important thing you can do is to stay home, shelter in place and thereby decrease your potential for both acquiring and transmitting the virus.”