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San Mateo County Health

Helping everyone in San Mateo County live longer & better lives.
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El departamento de salud, Health System, ofrece muchos servicios en español y pronto estará traducido nuestro sitio web. Hasta entonces, le pedimos que llame a estos números para obtener más información sobre nuestros servicios y programas en español.

Encuentre un médico o reciba atención en el hospital, San Mateo Medical Center: (650) 573-2222

Servicios para adultos mayores y personas con discapacidades, incluidas la atención en casa, la protección contra abuso o robo, y provisión de comidas saludables: (800) 675-8437

COVID-19 Guidance and Resources for Clinicians and Facilities

Overview

San Mateo County Health is working closely with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its potential impacts on the Bay Area. 

Please note that these recommendations are intended for medical providers, congregate facilities, and schools in San Mateo County. Providers in other counties should contact their local health department for guidance. 

General Resources

COVID-19 Digests

Reporting Requirements for Clinicians and Laboratories

Healthcare providers MUST REPORT to the San Mateo County Communicable Disease Control Program within one day (24 hours):

  • ALL positive COVID-19 diagnostic laboratory testing results
  • ALL clinically diagnosed COVID-19 cases 
  • ALL patients younger than 21 years of age meeting MIS-C criteria

Please report via the CalREDIE Provider Portal or complete a COVID-19 Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR) found at www.smchealth.org/covid-19cmr and submit via fax to 650-573-2919 or secure email to SMCCDControl@smcgov.org. Attaching the laboratory report and relevant medical records to the CMR will help ensure the public health follow-up is able to move forward quickly.

Please note that this reporting requirement is separate from laboratory reporting requirements. Laboratories are required to report ALL COVID-19 laboratory results regardless of test type or result within 1 hour via CalREDIE Electronic Laboratory Report.

For additional information about communicable disease reporting visit http://smchealth.org/communicablediseasereporting.

Hospital/Emergency Department Discharge

In order to minimize the risk of secondary transmission, discharge of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 must be communicated to the San Mateo County COVID-19 Discharge Planners in a timely manner so that isolation precautions can be maintained. Alternative housing options and/or wrap-around services may be available for individuals who are known to have COVID-19, are suspected to have COVID-19, or are awaiting COVID-19 test results and who are unable to appropriately isolate or quarantine.

Please note that you may discharge patients when they are medically ready and that you do not need prior approval. However, you must notify the San Mateo County COVID-19 Discharge Planners every time a patient is released so that we may follow up in a timely manner and provide support to the discharged patient if needed.

Please be prepared to share the patient’s demographic information, ideal timeline for discharge, any anticipated barriers to maintaining appropriate isolation, and contact information for the treating medical provider and hospital discharge planner, if available. As always, please leave a call back number so that one of the COVID-19 Discharge Planners can reach you if additional information is necessary to help us address the needs of the patient who is being discharged.

If you anticipate issues with a discharge (i.e., the patient will not be able to safely isolate and would ideally be placed in a hotel), please let us know as soon as possible so that our COVID-19 Discharge Planners can explore options prior to discharge.

There are two ways for you to let us know that a patient is being discharged from the Emergency Department and/or inpatient services:

  1. Send the completed COVID-19 Discharge Planning Form via secure email to HLT_COVID19_Discharge_Planners@smcgov.org. Forms may be submitted at any time but are only processed between 8:00am and 6:30pm 7 days a week.
  2. Between 8:00am and 5:00pm 7 days a week, call the 650-573-2346 “warm line.” Please leave a detailed message which will be routed to the COVID-19 Discharge Planners for follow-up.

Additional Information and Resources:

Healthcare Facilities and Clinicians

Facilities may establish their own protocols. These guidelines are intended to support healthcare facilities that do not have internal protocols established. Employees should follow facility-specific protocols when available. 

Skilled Nursing Facilities

Guidance

Webinars

Additional Resources

Congregate Settings

Guidance

Webinars

Additional Resources

Schools and Child Care Facilities

Employers and Businesses (Non-Healthcare)

San Mateo County Health Reporting Requirements for Employers and Businesses

  • Reporting Threshold: Employers and businesses are required to notify the San Mateo County Health Communicable Disease (CD) Control Program when there are (3) or more cases of COVID-19 in the workplace within a 14-day period. For additional information about required reporting, please refer to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Responding to COVID-19 in the Workplace for Employers and California Assembly Bill No. 685. 

    Clinicians, laboratories, healthcare facilities, congregate settings, schools, and child care facilities should refer to site-specific guidance documents available at www.smchealth.org/providers/covid19.

    In general, other employers and businesses are not required to report individual staff members with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to the local health authority if the reporting threshold of 3 or more cases within a 14-day period is not met. In these situations, employers/businesses should refer to CDC COVID-19: Guidance for Employers and Worksites FAQs for general guidance and ensure that the staff member with COVID-19 is isolated and close contacts are identified and quarantined. See www.smchealth.org/IQ for additional information about isolation and quarantine. Health Officer Orders for isolation and quarantine are available at https://www.smchealth.org/coronavirus-health-officer-updates.

    Please note that Cal/OSHA has additional requirements for employers to report and respond to COVID-19 cases in the workplace. Please refer to Cal/OSHA directly for additional information. 
     
  • How to report: Send an email with the subject line “Employer/Business Report” to the San Mateo County Health Communicable Disease (CD) Control Program at COVID19_WorksiteTeam@smcgov.org (note the underscore in COVID19_WorksiteTeam@smcgov.org). 
     
  • What to report:
    • Name of employer
    • Workplace address
    • Main phone number/Main email address
    • Name of human resources representative, manager, or owner
    • Phone number/Email address for human resources representative, manager, or owner
    • Number of COVID-19 cases
    • Provide details if addition guidance requested
    • Do NOT send information for specific employees (e.g., names) in unsecured email. CD Control staff will provide access to a secure email system as needed. If secure email is available, include the following. 

San Mateo County Resources

California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Resources

Cal/OSHA Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Resources

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Guidance