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Your Safety is Our Top Concern

Thank you for choosing Planned Parenthood!

COVID-19 (coronavirus) and care at Planned Parenthood:

We continue to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak and follow all CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations and best practices.

Some things we’re doing to keep you safe:

  • We offer multiple ways to get care, including in-center visits and video visits with no-touch prescription pickup. Learn more here.
  • Patients with respiratory symptoms (cough/shortness of breath) or a fever are kindly asked to reschedule their in-center visit until you’re feeling better.
  • All patients and staff are given a temperature check before checking in for an appointment or work.
  • Every patient is screened for symptoms at check-in.
  • Most forms can be filled out electronically prior to the visit for a contact-free check in.
  • All patients and staff are required to wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth at all times while inside the health center.
  • Patients are asked to adhere to social distancing rules by staying at least 6 feet away from others whenever possible.
  • Patients will not be gathered in our waiting rooms together, but taken to an exam room as quickly as possible.
  • Only patients with an appointment and staff are allowed in the health center. We’re sorry but this means you can not bring any guests, visitors, or children. 
  • All exam rooms are fully disinfected after each use.

 

COVID-19 FAQs

Key Points

  • COVID-19 can be transmitted even before a person feels sick, meaning social distancing is the most important thing you can do to protect yourself and others—stay 6 feet apart at all times.
  • Quarantine immediately if you develop any symptoms.
  • Always call ahead before seeking medical care. Call 911 or go to the ER if you have life-threatening symptoms such as difficulty breathing or confusion.
  • False negative tests are common. If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, you should quarantine even if you have had a negative test result.
  • Wearing a cloth face mask (NOT a surgical mask or N95 respirator—those are for health care settings only) is recommended (and in some place mandatory) when in public spaces such as a grocery store. This is to protect other people from you; it does not offer you any protection and is not a substitute for social distancing.
Coronavirus symptoms
  • The most common symptoms are fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. Symptoms can also include chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell.
  • The period within which the symptoms would appear is 2-14 days.
  • Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness.
  • If you develop any of these emergency warning signs, call 911 immediately:
    • Trouble breathing
    • Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
    • New confusion or inability to arouse
    • Bluish lips or face
Coronavirus transmission
  • Thousands of people in our community have coronavirus, many of whom are unaware of their status. There are likely 8 to 10 times more infected people than the confirmed positive cases.
  • Coronavirus is contagious up to 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms, and approximately 25% of people who have it will be asymptomatic. This means that in order to contain the epidemic, we should assume that everyone has coronavirus regardless of whether they are sick.
  • The vast majority of coronavirus transmission occurs when people are closer than six feet apart for a period of several minutes or more. This is why social distancing is the single most effective way to reduce community transmission.
Social distancing
  • Unless you are an “essential worker,” you should stay at home at all times.
  • Limit trips out to the minimum necessary to get by and only for essential things like food, medicine, and urgent medical care.  When you do go out for these things, stay at least 6 feet away from others and wear a cloth facemask.
  • Minimize interaction with others as much as you can.  
  • It is safe to go outside to non-crowded places as long as you stay 6 feet or more from anyone else you encounter along the way.
Facemasks
  • Public health authorities now recommend the use of a reusable cloth facemask whenever out in public. This is to protect other people from exposure to the wearer’s respiratory droplets, it does not protect the wearer.  It is really important that people understand that wearing a cloth facemask does not protect them and is not a substitute for social distancing.
  • The general public should not wear medical grade personal protective equipment, such as N95 masks or surgical masks. These should be reserved for healthcare settings. 
Gloves
  • Not everyone should be wearing gloves. COVID-19 spreads via respiratory droplets and those droplets can get on gloves as well as hands and other surfaces.  If you don’t clean gloves, hands, surfaces, it is possible to infect yourself if you touch respiratory droplets on gloves, hands, surfaces and then touch your face. 
  • The best solution to avoid exposure to coronavirus is not gloves, it is good hand hygiene and social distancing.
Coronavirus testing
  • Testing for coronavirus is very tricky and test accuracy varies widely based upon timing of testing, adequacy of specimen collection, type of test, and host factors.
  • False negatives are common. If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, you should quarantine even if you have had a negative test result.
  • If someone tests positive for coronavirus, they have it. If they test negative, they could still have it and should isolate. 
  • Testing is still not widely available in many areas, and is currently not available at Planned Parenthood/Melody Health.
Treatment of coronavirus
  • There is no current treatment for coronavirus, although several drugs are under investigation.
  • Do not use or purchase hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), chloroquine, azithromycin, oseltamivir, or any other prescription medication for the treatment or prevention of coronavirus in outpatient settings.
  • Management for coronavirus symptoms is supportive care. This means antipyretics for fever, antitussives for cough, mucolytics and decongestants for congestion, and NSAIDs or acetaminophen for pain. Other supportive care measures such as increased fluid intake, nasal rinse, gargling with salt water, drinking warm soothing fluids, etc, are also appropriate.
  • Despite reports in the media to the contrary, NSAIDs (medications like Advil, Motrin, Aleve, or their generics) can be taken by patients with coronavirus​.
Isolation and quarantine recommendations for patients with presumed or proven Covid-19
  • People with presumed or confirmed COVID-19 should follow home isolation instructions. If you have symptoms, assume you are infectious and continue to follow home isolation instructions regardless of a negative test result.
  • Symptomatic people (presumed or confirmed) should provide all of their close contacts beginning 48 hours before the onset of symptoms (including household members, intimate partners, and caregivers) with home quarantine instructions.
  • Duration of isolation: All symptomatic people, should stay home until at least 7 days have passed after their symptoms first appeared AND at least 3 days after they have recovered. Recovery means that their fever has been gone for 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and their respiratory symptoms (e.g. cough, shortness of breath) have improved.
  • What to do if seeking medical care: If the symptomatic person needs to be seen in person for medical care, call ahead if possible to alert the medical facility. If they have life-threatening symptoms, call 9-1-1 and to tell the dispatch personnel of their COVID-19 status.
  • Prevent transmission in the household: Stay in a specific room and away from other people in the home as much as possible. It is particularly important to stay away from people who are at higher risk of serious illness. Use good hand hygiene, cover coughs and sneezes, don’t share personal household items, and clean the home frequently.
  • Monitor for severe disease: Review the warning signs of more severe disease including shortness of breath, weakness, and confusion. For people at high risk for severe illness, plan for what to do if symptoms worsen, including when to call 9-1-1. If person lives alone or does not have another adult in the house, find someone who could do virtual daily check ins.
  • Management of close contacts: Household members, intimate partners, caregivers, as well as any additional people who were within 6 feet of the patient for 10 minutes while they were symptomatic or in the 48 hours prior to symptom onset, or who have had unprotected contact with their body fluids, and/or secretions (such as sweat, saliva, sputum, nasal mucus, vomit, urine, or diarrhea) are considered to be “close contacts”. All close contacts should be quarantined at home for 14 days beyond their last contact to the patient.

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