With U.S. President Donald Trump back at the White House after spending several days in a military hospital, the primary doctor in charge of his COVID-19 treatment is the same, but the extent of the medical facilities available is not.
The president’s doctor heads the White House Medical Unit, which includes about 30 medical personnel and is available for medical care at all hours of the day.
There is an exam room on the ground floor of the White House residence, located next to the Map Room, as well as a larger set of offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building that neighbors the White House.
Those who receive care include the president and his immediate family, the vice president, White House staff members, and if necessary, foreign dignitaries and tourists who visit the site.
The scope of care ranges from simple measures, such as routine checkups and dispensing medication for easing a headache, to emergency responses like resuscitation.
In those more serious cases, the White House Medical Unit works to stabilize patients and get them to a hospital as soon as possible.
Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, expressed confidence Monday that his team would not “miss anything” that would have been caught had the president stayed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, which is equipped with an intensive care unit, more advanced imaging capabilities and specialists.
“He's returning to a facility — the White House Medical Unit — that’s staffed 24/7 with top notch physicians, nurses, PAs, logisticians,” Conley told reporters.
The White House unit also has been responsible for conducting COVID-19 tests on journalists in the White House press corps.
