Kaweah Delta announces website feature to notify public of COVID-19 patients
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Kaweah Delta announces website feature to notify public of COVID-19 patients
VISALIA – Kaweah Delta has launched a new feature on its website
to provide Tulare County residents with information on the number of positive
COVID-19 patients inside the Medical Center.
This new feature will be updated daily, Monday through Friday, at
www.kaweahdelta.org/covid19.
“This update underscores that COVID-19 is here in our community and
it’s important for all of us to remain vigilant in our efforts to
protect ourselves, and our community,” said Gary Herbst, Kaweah
Delta’s Chief Executive Officer. “We have taken a number of
steps to protect our patients, our staff, and our community, but we all
have a role to play to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Kaweah Delta first notified the community on March 16 that a patient at
its Medical Center tested positive for COVID-19. Per Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention guidelines, Kaweah Delta identifies all employees
who come in contact with a patient that has tested positive for COVID-19,
and tests and treats anyone who displays symptoms.
Kaweah Delta has taken a number of measures to put the health and safety
of patients and visitors first. They include institution of:
- A no-visitor policy
- Screening patients outside of its Emergency Department for COVID-19 symptoms
- Implementation of temporary Medical Center entrances
- Development of a free screening hotline to assess people who may have COVID-19
symptoms from the safety of their home to avoid unnecessary exposure of
themselves and others
- Cancellation of all public events
- Removing volunteers from its sites
- Cancellation of all business travel
- Asking its more than 5,000 employees to cancel internal meetings and use
teleconferencing or online meetings instead.
Starting next week, the City of Visalia will close a small city block to
improve safety for Tulare County residents coming to Kaweah Delta for
COVID-19 testing.
Effective Tuesday, March 31, Floral Street in downtown Visalia will close
to traffic one block north of Kaweah Delta Medical Center (between Main
Street and Acequia Avenue). The closure will allow Tulare County residents,
who the Tulare County Public Health Department would like tested for COVID-19,
to drive down the block in their cars and park in the diagonal parking
spaces on the street’s west side. Kaweah Delta staff will collect
specimens from these individuals. Kaweah Delta does not do testing; specimens
are sent to the Tulare County Public Health Laboratory, which conducts
testing to determine whether an individual is positive for COVID-19.
Kaweah Delta first set up tents outside of the Medical Center on March
13 to collect specimens from people suspected of having COVID-19.
The sites are also being used to screen those individuals who are making
use of Kaweah Delta’s new, free COVID-19 screening hotline at 559-624-4110.
Individuals who call receive a same-day appointment with a nurse practitioner
who assess by phone whether they have COVID-19 symptoms. Anyone can use
the hotline, but people with primary care physicians should call their
physician for an assessment first.
Kaweah Delta will continue to share COVID-19 information and regular updates
with the community on its website at
www.kaweahdelta.org/COVID19, via media statements, and on its social media accounts.
Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency advises if you think you
have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms of respiratory
illness, such as cough or difficulty breathing, please call your primary
physician or 2-1-1 rather than walking into a medical office or hospital.
Your physician will connect with Tulare County Public Health to determine
if testing is appropriate. #