For a summary of Seattle Children’s news and information about COVID-19, read our Provider FAQs.

1. COVID-19 in Kids: Seattle Children’s Testing Shows 1.5% Positivity Rate

Seattle Children’s has tested 1,757 patients as of April 15, with 19 patients testing positive and 7 inconclusive, for an overall positivity rate of 1.5%.  Seventeen patients who tested positive are recovering at home, two are hospitalized.

COVID-19 cases in children make up less than 2% of reported cases in the U.S., according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (April 7, 2020).

2. COVID-19 Scheduling Triage Extended to June 30

The triage standards instituted by Seattle Children’s for scheduling have been extended to June 30.  The standards provide a consistent approach to scheduling across all specialties and locations and will minimize our scheduling backlog once standard operations resume.

Please note, scheduling triage standards apply to both new and return appointments.

Tier 1:  Patients who need to be seen in person by the provider before July 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 or ability to provide a telehealth or telemedicine visit
  • Referral/consult cannot be assessed with a telephone or telehealth visit

3. Pharmacy Update: Curbside Delivery and Mail-Order Now Available

In response to COVID-19, the Outpatient Pharmacy at Seattle Children’s hospital campus in Seattle now offers curbside pickup and mail order prescription options (some restrictions apply). Families who need to fill their child’s prescription on site or request a refill should inquire with pharmacy staff to discuss pick up or mail order options.

Onsite pick up is still available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at our hospital campus in Seattle. Prescriptions must be written by a Seattle Children’s physician.

4. Palliative Care Update

Seattle Children’s Palliative Care program is temporarily scaling back its on-site availability at the hospital to minimize the risk of COVID-19 to staff, families and patients.

Below are guidelines for consulting Palliative Care plus information about their revised staffing model.

1)   For new consults, Palliative Care will accept consults with the following criteria:

  1. Patients who are nearing or who are at the end-of-life, including pain & symptom management
  2. Goals of care consults
  3. Complex medical decision making

2)   Except as noted above, in general Palliative Care will default to phone and virtual check-ins with patients and families but will provide in-person care if the family/team feels this is necessary and it is safe to do so.

3)    Monday through Friday, the team has decreased staffing on-site with others working remotely.

  1. On-site staffing includes two clinical staff on-site for new consults and to see patients/families
  2. There is no change to after-hours and weekend staffing (one medical provider available via on-call or through the paging operator)

4)    All outpatient consults will be via telehealth.

5)    If you are unsure if a consult is appropriate at this time, or have any questions or issues that the Palliative Care team can support, please do not hesitate to reach out to us any time, 24/7 through the hospital operator. The team is happy to support providers and teams on primary palliative care skills.

6)    For communication with the Palliative Care team, for general questions, and patient updates/information, please use the Palliative Care Program distribution list at [email protected]. For more acute issues, please page our on call attending or APP through the hospital operator.

The Palliative Care team looks forward to the time when they will be able to ramp their services back up and engage in the incredible collaborative service to patients and families with partners at Seattle Children’s and in the community.

5. COVID-19 resources to share with patient families