COVID-19 (novel coronavirus)

Washington Hospital is well prepared to care for COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) patients.

We treat and handle all suspected coronavirus cases according to our infectious disease protocols. In addition, we follow strict guidelines as defined by the California Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. This includes having designated isolation rooms in our Emergency Department and throughout our facilities, thus allowing us to keep patients with possible infectious disease separate from others. The health and safety of our patients and visitors, as well as our staff, physicians and volunteers, remains a top priority for us.

Temporary Visitor Restrictions

For your safety and in response to the shelter-in-place directive, starting Wednesday, March 18, we will not be allowing visitors in the Main Hospital and the Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion.

• Patients will designate a single individual who will be the point of contact for all information and conversations with your care team
• Point of contact will be responsible for sharing information with other family members or loved ones that should have this information
• A member of your care team will contact the designated point of contact at least once a day for a regular update, or more frequently if there are significant changes in your condition or care
• Exceptions to this policy will be determined by the caregiving team, which include end-of-life situations, parent of newborn and pediatric patients

We know that this change is not going to be easy. Please know this change is to ensure everyone's health and safety during this COVID-19 pandemic and to comply with the shelter-in-place directive. For technology options to help facilitate communication with patients in the Hospital, please call our HELP desk at 510.818.7099.

Impacted Services/Reduced Hours

Outpatient Lab Hours: Open from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., Monday - Saturday. For urgent outpatient lab draws, physicians need to indicate in the order that the lab draw is urgent. Patients with urgent orders should call the clinical lab at 510.818.3440 for instructions.

Women's Center Hours: Open from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Monday - Friday.

Outpatient Imaging Closed for Walk-ins: Only urgent outpatient imaging studies will be done and require a special physician order. Central Registration should be contacted at 510.818.7410 to schedule orders marked as "urgent" by physician.

Events: Postponed or Canceled

As a health precaution, we have postponed all Health & Wellness seminars scheduled for the months of March and April. We have also canceled the Women’s Health Conference, Women Empowering Women wellness program and the annual Go Green Earth Day event.

We will update this page as new details about impacted events is made available.

Recommendations to prevent illness overall include the following:

• Wash hands with soap and water
• If soap and water not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
• Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• Stay away from work, school or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough
• Follow guidance from public health officials

For more on coronavirus, we encourage you to visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. Also, the Alameda County Public Health Department is an excellent local resource, and they have coronavirus information at http://www.acphd.org/2019-ncov.aspx.

If you have questions or concerns about coronavirus, call your primary care physician. For all life-threatening emergencies, call your nearest emergency department for further instruction.

Donating to Washington Hospital

We thank the community for reaching out to inquire about how they can help Washington Hospital Healthcare System with the fight against COVID-19. Across the nation, hospitals both big and small, are facing an unprecedented challenge in a number of areas including hospital-grade personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and hand sanitizers. The Hospital is constantly monitoring supply levels while continuing to aggressively investigate new vendor sources.

Anyone interested in donating to the Hospital can do so by contacting Washington Hospital Healthcare Foundation at 510.818.7350. We ask that items not be delivered to the Emergency Department or any other area of the Hospital without first contacting the Foundation.

These are difficult times for everyone, but we will continue to be here for the community. Patient, staff and physician safety is the number one priority and we thank you all for coming together to help.

What people do to protect themselves and others from getting the new coronavirus