Adventist Health Sonora Updates Its COVID-19 Operation Practices
Sonora, CA — Adventist Health Sonora has updated its COVID-19 protocols with changes to its clinic procedures along with postponing most elective surgeries.
The hospital provided this update of services and facility operations:
Adventist Health Sonora COVID-19 update
Adventist Health Sonora continues to enforce new policies based on the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local agencies to help protect the safety of our patients, staff and community.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has placed the entire state of California under a stay-at-home order. Local residents have been asked to stay at home, unless you serve in a mission critical job sector.
We continue to limit visitors at all our facilities. There are no visitors allowed at the Sierra Care Center long term care facility. Patients visiting our outpatient clinics must come alone unless they require assistance. Pediatric patients may have one guardian accompany them for their visit. At the hospital, no visitors are allowed except for Birth Center, pediatric or palliative care patients, who are allowed one visitor.
Guidelines from the CDC have us ramping down certain outpatient services and providing additional precautions for our primary and specialty care medical offices. Beginning Monday, March 23, our clinics will be operating in a way that allows us to take care of our patients while controlling potential exposure to COVID-19. Outpatient rehabilitation patients will be rescheduled, and diagnostic imaging will limit services to urgent and emergency tests only. Patients who need to be rescheduled for these outpatient services will be contacted by phone. The Diana J. White Cancer Institute will continue to care for patients.
The Surgeon General and American College of Surgeons have both advised hospitals to cancel elective surgeries. Based on this recommendation, we have asked our physicians to postpone all elective surgeries, as much as safely possible for their patients. We will continue to provide services for emergency and urgent procedures to save life and limb, including cancer-related surgeries.
Our outpatient lab draw stations at Angels Camp Rapid Care and at the Health Pavilion are currently closed. Patients should come to the lab draw station located on the second floor of the 900 Professional Center, adjacent to the main hospital. The lab is limiting their waiting room to three or fewer people by using a virtual wait system that allows patients to wait in their car or other location. Patients should come to the lab to check in and receive further instruction. Lab draws are available from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
All staff, patients and visitors who enter our facilities must be screened for fever and symptoms. Anyone experiencing fever or respiratory symptoms is sent home or referred for further evaluation.
Adventist Health Sonora would like to thank our community for their patience, understanding and cooperation as we work through this situation together.
Adventist Health Sonora has established a special coronavirus advice line for people with questions or concerns. The advice line is available by calling 844-542-8840, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more updates from Adventist Health, please visit www.AdventistHeatlhSonora.org.
