Announcements

Seattle Children’s is officially calling a close to the influenza season due to the significant drop-off in (non-COVID-19) respiratory viruses detected during the last two weeks of testing.

To help contain the spread of COVID-19 in our community, Seattle Children’s has canceled large group gatherings taking place at our facilities, including those with attendees from the community (e.g. CMEs, classes, conferences, PALS courses, etc.). Please check with event organizers if you have questions or need additional information. If you are registered for an event and it is moved to WebeEx only, event organizers will notify you.

Seattle Children’s infectious disease and emergency medicine experts will share their experiences from the front lines at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. Topics include epidemiology, clinical presentation, foreign data and lab testing availabilities; infection control issues including PPE shortages; institutional response to COVID including employee testing; emergency services preparation and care; and potential antivirals and upcoming treatment guidelines. This special Provider Grand Rounds session will conclude with a Q&A with the panel. Join in Thursday, March 26, 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET. Read more. Read full post »

Clinical Pediatric Webinar This Week

Join us Thursday, March 26 for “COVID-19: The Seattle Children’s Experience” via Webex at 8 a.m. PST. More information is available here.

Additional COVID-19 Clinic Scheduling Guidelines

The following triage guidelines are being used by clinics to ensure a consistent approach to scheduling ambulatory patients during COVID-19. These will be used for patients who are currently scheduled, as well as new scheduling requests. The guidelines are intended to continue to provide needed care to patients, preserve PPE, and promote social distancing for our staff, providers, and community.

Due to the uncertain duration of this pandemic situation, these guidelines will be used for current and new appointment requests until May 1. This will avoid the need to reschedule patients, decrease a scheduling backlog and access constraints, and allow for appropriate prioritization once standard operations resume.

We will provide an update in early- to mid-April letting you know whether or not this will continue through June 1. Thank you for your patience and efforts to continue providing patient care in alternative ways when possible.

Tier 1: Patients who need to be seen in person by the provider within the next 6 weeks (until May 1).

• Clinical situation that could be compromised by delay in care and requires physical examination to support clinical decision-making

Tier 2: Patients who can be seen with a telephone or telehealth visit — can be scheduled at any time.

• Follow up care where the physical exam is not essential to decision making
• Key physical exam or imaging findings may be obtained by other means (e.g., PACS, photos, etc.)
• Referrals/consults that can be assessed with a telephone or telehealth visit

Tier 3: Patients who can be rescheduled or placed in the queue for scheduling when we resume normal business operations — can be placed in a queue to schedule an in-person visit at a later date.

• Patient condition does not suggest clinical urgency
• Family prefers an in-person visit
• Clinic does not have capacity to provide a telehealth or telemedicine visit
• Referral/consult cannot be assessed with a telephone or telehealth visit

Read full post »

We know this is a rapidly changing situation and we will continue to provide updated information about how Seattle Children’s is preparing and managing COVID-19, and how we can support primary care providers.

Are there any changes to Seattle Children’s outpatient radiology services?

We are continuing to offer a full range of imaging services including walk-in diagnostic outpatient x-ray in Bellevue, Federal Way, Everett, and Seattle. All families will be asked a series of screening questions before they enter the building. Families who present with respiratory symptoms or influenza-like illness will be put in strict isolation. We may consider less investigative studies when applicable.

When should PCPs send patients to Seattle Children’s Emergency Department (or not)?

Please only send your patients to Seattle Children’s Emergency Department if they are sufficiently ill to need emergent treatment (i.e. they meet criteria for being admitted). Please call our ED Communications Center first at 206-987-8899.

Patients with non-emergent respiratory symptoms and concern for COVID-19 should call Public Health – Seattle & King County and quarantine at home.

Who is being tested for COVID-19?

Current capacity for testing is limited. Ambulatory or admitted patients qualify for testing if they meet the current CDC definition of PUI, which currently (as of 3/4/20) includes relevant travel exposure, contact with a known COVID case, and those admitted with fever and lower respiratory tract infection. Results typically take between 24 to 48 hours.

Is Seattle Children’s able to test for COVID-19?

The viral respiratory panel used at Seattle Children’s does not detect COVID-19. We are sending our COVID-19 panels to the University of Washington for testing and receiving results back in 24-48 hours.  Current capacity is limited.

COVID-19 testing is available only for our inpatients with respiratory symptoms and patients who meet the CDC testing criteria. 

For more information, read our complete FAQ for providers.

Additional Resources

If your patient has questions or is concerned about COVID-19, please refer to these resources from Washington State Department of Health:

• What to do if you have suspected or confirmed COVID-19
• What to do if you think you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19
• What to do if you have symptoms of COVID-19 (such as cold and fever) and have not been around someone with COVID-19

For additional information to support families, see:

• Information on our website for patients and families
• Information for families who have been placed on home quarantine
• Tips and resources for Helping Children and Teens Cope with Anxiety About COVID-19
• A coronavirus fact sheet in multiple languages from Public Health – Seattle & King County

Read full post »

PCPs Play a Critical Role in Pandemic Response

Seattle Children’s anticipates a massive response will be required by healthcare providers on all fronts to respond to COVID-19. Hospitals, ERs and urgent cares will be strained to capacity to treat the sickest patients; their ability to keep up and save lives will depend in large part on primary care providers having capacity and resources to treat less acute patients throughout our communities.

What you can do:

• Prepare your clinics immediately to see low acuity respiratory patients.
  • Divide your flow so that patients with and without respiratory symptoms are seen in separate spaces.
  • Consider a front door v. back door check in process.
  • Consider seeing symptomatic kids in their cars and/or asking them to remain in cars until a room is ready for them.
  • Be creative in this crisis situation to minimize in-person patient visits for suspected COVID; use phones, video apps, etc. to see patients and help limit the spread of the virus.
  • Do not automatically redirect patients with respiratory symptoms to urgent care or emergency departments. Manage as much patient care as possible without sending patients to urgent care or the ED.
• If you experience an increased demand for respiratory visits, consider canceling planned non-urgent patient visits, such as well-child care. Limit well-child appointments to immunizations only, to free up appointments for respiratory patients.
• Isolate non-emergent respiratory patients with quarantine at home.
• Consider coordinating with other clinics to become a larger outpatient system for triaging and managing patients.
• Focus now on procuring the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed by your staff, including gloves, masks, eye shields or goggles (not eyeglasses), and gowns.
• Stay up-to-date on the CDCs guidance on evaluating and reporting Persons Under Investigation (PUI).

Read full post »

New referral guidelines are now available from Seattle Children’s Neurosciences Center, along with new resources to help manage patients with tic and headache in primary care.

The current wait time for new patients with non-urgent headache or tic is about 3 months. As Seattle Children’s continues its effort to improve access to specialty care for children who most need it, the headache and tic resources from Neurosciences are intended to help patients with these conditions find appropriate care with their primary physician and avoid the longer waits to see a specialist.

Please visit the Neurosciences “Refer a Patient” webpage.     Read full post »

As announced last week in a special Provider News bulletin, Seattle Children’s has re-opened the operating rooms (ORs) on the hospital campus that were previously closed for installation of a new air handling system and in-room HEPA filtration systems in each OR. We are taking a thoughtful approach to rescheduling surgeries that were postponed due to the closure, including reviewing surgeries on a daily basis to assess urgency and priority.

For surgery referrals, please follow our normal referral process. Read full post »

Ocean Pharmacy Now Open 24 Hours

On Feb. 24, the hours of our Ocean Pharmacy expanded to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The goal of this expansion is to enhance the continuity of care patients receive at Seattle Children’s. Patient families can now avoid the hassle of finding a late-night pharmacy after being discharged from the Emergency Department. The expanded hours will also help improve daytime turnaround times for inpatient and surgery center discharges.

Ocean Pharmacy is not open to the general public. Read full post »

To help contain the spread of COVID-19 in our community, Seattle Children’s is canceling large group gatherings taking place at our facilities, including those with attendees from the community (e.g. CMEs, classes, conferences, PALS courses, etc.). Some Grand Rounds may be moved to WebEx rather than cancelled. Please check with event organizers if you have questions or need additional information. If you are registered for an event and it is moved to WebEx only, event organizers will notify you. Read full post »