What it’s like to be a Chattanooga family doctor on the front line of COVID-19 fight

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Dr. Siobhan Duff sits in her office before going on a telemedicine call inside of Chattanooga Family Practice on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing, forcing both care givers and patients, especially those less technologically inclined to adjust in order to give and receive care.

By Elizabeth Fite March 31, 2020 7 min read

While much of the attention fixates on hospital preparations, primary care providers on the frontlines are already in a full blown war against COVID-19.

In just a few weeks, physicians such as Dr. Siobhan Duff have changed their entire practice – and lives – in the face of the pandemic.

Duff, a member of Chattanooga Family Practice, said three weeks ago she wasn’t much different than the average citizen.

“We were kind of just living our normal lives, and then when the case announcement happened in Hamilton County, it was sort of like the light bulb went on. We were all deer in the headlights,” Duff, who specializes in family medicine, said about the county’s first COVID-19 case made public on March 13.

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Chattanooga family doctors fighting COVID-19

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Dr. Siobhan Duff speaks with her husband, who is working to pass information from her patients along to Medical Assistants, or Dr. Duff herself, before she goes on a telemedicine call inside of Chattanooga Family Practice on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing, forcing both care givers and patients, especially those less technologically inclined to adjust in order to give and receive care.

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Phlebotomist Allie Williams drags a tent into the parking lot of Chattanooga Family Practice while setting up a mobile lab site on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing.

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Phlebotomist Allie Williams takes a blood sample for a routine screen in the parking lot of Chattanooga Family Practice while setting up a mobile lab site on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing, offering patients in need of routine blood work a mobile lab.

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Dr. Siobhan Duff reads through a patient's chart before going on a telemedicine call inside of Chattanooga Family Practice on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing, forcing both care givers and patients, especially those less technologically inclined to adjust in order to give and receive care.

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Phlebotomist Kaci Roy grabs an extra tourniquet before getting a patient's blood sample in the Chattanooga Family Practice parking lot on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing.

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Medical Assistant Kim Hardin speaks with a patient of Dr. Siobhan Duff inside of Chattanooga Family Practice on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing, forcing both care givers and patients, especially those less technologically inclined to adjust in order to give and receive care.

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Dr. Siobhan Duff scrolls through an app her practice uses for telemedicine calls inside of her office at Chattanooga Family Practice on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing, forcing both care givers and patients, especially those less technologically inclined to adjust in order to give and receive care.

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Phlebotomists Allie Williams, left, and Kaci Roy, right, speak while they wait on a patient to arrive to the Chattanooga Family Practice parking lot for blood work on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing.

Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Medical Assistant Angie Weaver speaks with a patient of Dr. Siobhan Duff inside of Chattanooga Family Practice on Thursday, March 26, 2020 in East Ridge, Tenn. Chattanooga Family Practice made the decision to convert all patient-doctor interaction to telemedicine calls for at least 14 days or until the practice could guarantee the safety of staff members through a higher availability of Personal Protective Equipment and Testing, forcing both care givers and patients, especially those less technologically inclined to adjust in order to give and receive care.

Family medicine doctors are often the first point of contact, serving as a gatekeeper between patients and the hospitals. They treat patients ranging from newborns to geriatrics and everything in between, getting to know patients and helping them navigate both their lives and health care needs.