COVID-19 | Bateman Horne Center

Even though the world’s attention is on COVID-19, BHC’s continued commitment to clinical care, research and education for our ME/CFS and FM community remains unwavering. Because our community’s well-being is central to all we do, we have compiled a list of resources and education aimed at keeping you informed and prepared during this difficult time.

References Available to Download

Medical Considerations Letter — In the event you become acutely ill, the Medical Care Considerations Letter serves as a guiding resource for outside medical care intervention. The intent of this letter is to provide care professionals with further information about your illness of ME/CFS and/or severe FM to assist them with their medical intervention decisions.

COVID-19 and ME/CFS/FM Frequently Asked Questions: Drs. Bateman and Yellman answer specific questions about COVID-19 as it relates to ME/CFS/FM.

Suzanne D. Vernon, PhD, addresses: SARS, CoV-2, and COVID-19: A scientific overview of COVID-19, infection/transmission, testing, and treatments on the horizon.

Coping with Anxiety Related to COVID-19: Timothy Weymann, LCSW, discusses ways of shaping your thoughts surrounding anxiety related to COVID-19.

Advance Care Planning: The Advance Care Planning document provides guidance for establishing advanced-care-directives and POLST documents.

A Corona Virus Guide For At Home Care

Personal Guidance and Decision Making

Shelter at home. Limit your exposure to others and adhere to the CDC’s recommended precautions.
Be diligent in your adherence to practicing good hygiene.
Testing does not equate to treatment. A positive test can only lead to medical advice and prioritization of care based on illness severity. Currently, most treatment is “supportive.”
More aggressive interventions are only needed if symptoms worsen to the point that hospital admission is required for fluids, oxygen, and possibly ICU admission with likelihood of intubation and ventilation.
In emergency situations individuals with ME/CFS/FM should engage in the highest quality medical interventions for the respective emergency medical condition. If you get sick, don’t try to manage COVID-19 for your doctors.
Drug treatment is rapidly becoming more available for the most severely ill with COVID-19. These treatments might lead to improvement for ME/CFS.
Advance Directives: Everyone, not just those with ME/CFS, should document end-of-life wishes on paper regarding aggressive medical care in a life-threatening situation. Discuss with family and medical professionals as needed.