Dear CMC Patients and Families,
We value you as important members of our Children’s Medical Center community, and we want you to know that we are closely monitoring events in our local community regarding COVID-19. We appreciate the trust you place in us even through this challenging time for our patients, families, and staff. To the best of our abilities we have been following the recommended guidance from public health authorities and have modified the flow in our clinic accordingly. We feel confident in our ability to continue to see patients in the way the you have come to expect and deserve.
In order to strive for the recommended social distancing we have already implemented the following changes to flow in the last 2 weeks:
- Sick patients are being instructed to enter our main entrance and check in as usual. The sick patients are being checked in and roomed as soon as possible to reduce the amount of time in the waiting rooms. We are asking those patients to leave through our alley door to keep all of the North side of the clinic the sick area. CMC is not testing for COVID 19, therefore, we are triaging patients that need to be tested to visit an appropriate community test site.
- The well patients, this includes newborns, well child checks, medication checks and injuries, are being asked to enter and exit through our glass exit door on the south west side of the clinic. The well patients will be checked in at the treatment room in the back of the clinic and be roomed as soon as possible.
- Toys and books have already been removed from our waiting room and exam rooms.
We have also begun offering Telehealth appointments when deemed appropriate – our wonderful Triage staff will be available to help with families’ concerns and decide if and when Telehealth appointments will be appropriate when you call/email in. Please remember that on-line messaging is for non-urgent messages only and will not be checked in the evenings or on weekends.
At this time COVID-19 testing is still mostly limited to certain groups: patients that require hospitalization and health care workers. We do not have the ability to offer testing within our clinic. We will continue to follow testing capabilities throughout the state, and will keep you informed if guidelines change.
In the meantime, here are some references that may help families through this time:
How to talk to your child about COVID-19:
Child-friendly Virtual Tours/Field Trips:
Supporting Teens and Young Adults Through COVID-19: