COVID-19/ NOVEL CORONAVIRUS

The COVID-19 is a newly identified coronavirus that is causing an outbreak of pneumonia illness. It was first identified in December in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since then, the virus has been identified in multiple other countries worldwide.

Here is some guidance and resource information as a proactive measure for your health center.

Don’t Panic; Do Be Prepared.

Please be mindful of the following:

• Reviewing your Emergency Preparedness plan, especially in regards to patients entering with potentially infectious diseases.
• Reviewing appointment protocols for communicable/contagious disease
• Reviewing protocols and signage for ALL staff and patients re: hand hygiene
• You may want to provide some general, easy-to-read information on infectious disease prevention in your waiting rooms.

• West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WV DHHR) has provided guidance in response to COVID-19.
• Specifically, WV DHHR Healthcare Professional guidance is found here.  
•  CDC: Coronavirus page Updated Frequently
• CDC guidance for healthcare providers: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/index.html
• CDC Flowchart for Patient Evaluation: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/identify-assess-flowchart.html
• CDC Fact Sheets for Patients and translations: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/factsheets.html
• ASPR TRACIE: Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Information Gateway
• Johns Hopkins GIS map of COVID-19 Global Cases, updated daily
• HRSA Resources: Information on relevant HRSA policies for health centers, including guidance for requesting changes in scope or temporary privileging of clinical providers, is available on HRSA’s Emergency Preparedness and Recovery Resources for Health Centers webpage.
• Up-to-date information on the status of the virus outbreak is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• The CDC has developed clinical evaluation criteria for providers, as well as information about COVID-19 symptoms, prevention, and treatment (including educational materials in Chinese and Spanish). Along with limiting your exposure to sick individuals, hand washing is one of the best precautions you can take to help prevent the spread of the disease.