Health Get Your Clinic Ready for Coronavirus Disease Poster

CS 315899-A    03/13/2020
A new respiratory disease—coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)—may impact your community. 	 	
Get ready! Steps you take to prepare your clinic for flu can also help protect your patients and healthcare 
workers from COVID-19:
Before Patients Arrive	
• Prepare the clinic.	 	
 -	Know which of your patients are at higher 
risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19.
 -	Consider and plan for providing more 
telemedicine appointments. 
 -	Know how to contact your health 
department. 
 -	Stay connected with your health 
department to know about COVID-19 	 	
in your community. Step up precautions 
when the virus is spreading in  	 	
your community.    
 -	Assess and restock supplies now and on     
a regular schedule.	
• Communicate with patients. 	
 -	Ask patients about symptoms during 
reminder calls.  
 -	Consider rescheduling non-urgent 
appointments. 
 -	Post signs at entrances and in waiting 
areas about  prevention actions. 	
• Prepare the waiting area and 	 	
patient rooms. 	
 -	Provide supplies—tissues, alcohol-based 
hand rub, soap at sinks, and trash cans.
 -	Place chairs 3–6 feet apart, when possible. 
Use barriers (like screens), if possible.
 -	If your office has toys, reading materials, 	 	
or other communal objects, remove   
them or clean them regularly. 	
When Patients Arrive	
• Place staff at the entrance to ask patients 
about their symptoms. 	
 -	Provide symptomatic patients with 
tissues or facemasks to cover mouth 	 	
and nose. 
 -	Limit non-patient visitors. 	
• Separate sick patients with symptoms. 	
 -	Allow patients to wait outside or in the 
car if they are medically able.
 -	Create separate spaces in waiting areas 
for sick and well patients.
 -	Place sick patients in a private room as 
quickly as possible.	
After Patients are Assessed	
• After patients leave, clean frequently 
touched surfaces 	using EPA-registered 	
disinfectants—counters, beds, seating. 
• Provide at-home care instructions	 	
to patients with respiratory symptoms. 
Consider telehealth options for follow up. 
• Notify your health department	 of 	
patients with COVID-19 symptoms. 	
Train and prepare your staff now	
• Ensure that clinical staff know the right ways to put on, 	 	
use, and take off PPE safely. 
• Recognize the symptoms of COVID-19— fever, cough, 
shortness of breath. 
• Implement procedures to quickly triage and separate 	 	
sick patients. 	
• Emphasize hand hygiene and cough etiquette 	 	
for everyone.
• Ask staff to stay home if they are sick. 
• Send staff home if they develop symptoms 
while at work. 	
For more information: 	www.cdc.gov/COVID19	
Get Your Clinic Ready for  	 	
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)