COVID-19

Effective Friday, May 12, 2023: WhidbeyHealth Medical Center and Clinics will no longer be operating under coronavirus pandemic-specific policies and procedures.

This decision was made with guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), in conjunction with our Infection Prevention and Employee Health departments. WhidbeyHealth has returned to Standard Transmission Based Precautions and Respiratory Hygiene & Cough Etiquette processes to ensure patient and employee safety.

Our Whidbey Island community has done a great job at flattening the curve and protecting each other from the spread of coronavirus. Putting an end to the pandemic is up to us - each of us - to take the necessary steps: Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Watch your distance.

HOW CAN I GET VACCINATED?

Can I get tested?

Can I visit a patient?

Effective Processes for COVID

What is WA Notify?

COVID FAQ

PROCLAMATION 21-14.2: COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Healthcare Institutions

PROCLAMATION 21-14.2:

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Healthcare Institutions

Under Washington State Governor Inslee's Proclamation 21-14.2 requires employees of healthcare institutions to be fully vaccinated (minimum of first series) against COVID-19 a reasonable accommodation for disability - related or sincerely held religious belief reasons will be considered. As a healthcare provider, all WhidbeyHealth workforce members are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Updated Masking Guidelines - Effective April 1, 2022

WhidbeyHealth Medical Center and Clinics are implementing an update to our masking guidelines in light of updated recommendations from the CDC and WA Department of Health.

Effective April 1, 2022:

No visitor restrictions
- All visitors, guests, and patients must continue to wear procedural or N95 masks while within our facilities.
Visitors must continue to wear procedural masks.
If inpatients and all their visitors are up to date with all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses, they can choose not to wear source control and have contact.
Procedure Masks and N-95 Masks will be the only type of masks approved for use in all WhidbeyHealth facilities.
- Cloth masks of any type or fabric are no longer permitted for use.

Additional information regarding WhidbeyHealth's Mask Guidelines can be found here.

Novavax COVID-19, Adjuvanted Vaccine - IMPORTANT INFORMATION

WhidbeyHealth Community Pharmacy is pleased to be able to offer Novavax COVID-19 vaccine to the Whidbey Island community.

PLEASE NOTE: Novavax is a two-dose primary series vaccine for COVID-19. Novavax is not a supplementary vaccine or booster. Patients requesting Novavax will not be provided a vaccine if they have been previously vaccinated for COVID-19. It is ONLY for those who have NOT received a COVID-19 vaccine previously.

For additional information about Novavax from the CDC, click here.

Monoclonal Antibody (mAb) Infusion Treatments at WhidbeyHealth

WhidbeyHealth Medical Center will offer Monoclonal Antibody (mAb) infusion therapy as supplies are available.

At this time there is a national shortage of mAbs treatment pharmaceuticals and WhidbeyHealth is not able to provide treatments.
We will resume when supplies become available.
mAbs Treatment is available at WhidbeyHealth to those with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms
An assessment by an Emergency Department provider is necessary
- Call 360.678.7656 ext. 4601 to arrange for a scheduled arrival time.
- Be prepared to show a copy of your positive test, if not performed at WhidbeyHealth Medical Center.

Testing

Due to the widespread availability of COVID-19 testing available on the island and the sharp decrease in demand at WhidbeyHealth for coronavirus testing appointments, WhidbeyHealth will cease operating its scheduled or drive-up polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on November 12, 2021.

Those in the community in need of elective PCR testing, pre-procedurally or for travel, should seek testing at a local pharmacy or with their prescribing provider. WhidbeyHealth will continue to administer PCR testing as a medical necessity for symptomatic patients at our Emergency Department and Walk-In Clinics. To ensure the continued safety of our patients and staff, if you are a patient experiencing upper-respiratory or COVID-19 symptoms, WhidbeyHealth asks that you call ahead and properly disclose any symptoms, WhidbeyHealth asks that you call ahead and properly disclose any symptoms as a reason for your visit.

For those with more significant symptoms that cannot be managed at home, please call ahead and come to one of our Walk-In Clinic locations or our Emergency Department to be seen by a provider and evaluated for testing needs. COVID-19 testing at the WhidbeyHealth Walk-In Clinics in Clinton and Oak Harbor will NOT provide testing independent of a provider exam.

Your health is paramount to everything we do at WhidbeyHealth and we will do everything possible to ensure the fastest turn-around time possible for your testing and results. Please follow the above guidelines to obtain testing. Please do not arrive to WhidbeyHealth Medical Center and try to obtain a test through our Emergency Department unless you are experiencing symptoms that you cannot manage at home.

Call 911 if you have severe symptoms such as a very high fever, difficulty breathing, or inability to eat or drink.

Certified laboratories on the mainland process the swab specimens. Timing to get results from our lab partners is generally 24-72 hours but can fluctuate due to statewide demand.

If your test is positive for coronavirus, you will receive a phone call from both Island County Department of Health and WhidbeyHealth staff. You will be advised the next steps you should take to begin your recovery in quarantine or isolation. Patients receiving a positive test result can get their results on the MyWhidbeyHealth hospital portal. Patients who have a negative test result will not receive a call, and can get their results on the MyWhidbeyHealth hospital portal.

MyWhidbeyHealth

If you do not have an account on the patient portal, sign up at MyWhidbeyHealth to register. Choose the hospital portal, not the clinic portal. The portal allows patients and approved family members to:

Access your health information from your mobile device
See your visit history
Review you Lab and Radiology results
Send your Summary of Care Report to a different provider or service
Access Discharge Summaries
View and request outpatient appointments (e.g. Radiology)
Request a Release of Information form for your entire hospital record

How Can You Enroll? You must have been a patient and have a valid email address on file in order to sign-up. Patients must be 13 years of age or older. If the hospital doesn't have your current email address, please contact helpatmywhmc@whidbeyhealth.org.

Visit whidbeyhealth.org
Select on MyWhidbeyHealth (top right navigation area)
Select Log In/Sign Up (under the HOSPITAL picture)
Go to: "Don't have an account?" and select Sign-up
Enter Last Name, First Name, Date of Birth, and Email
Select Submit
Accept User Terms of Agreement
The system will email you a link to log into the portal with a Temporary Password (good for 72 hours)
Now create a Personal User ID and Password (both require two numbers, 4 characters minimum)

Definitions and Effective Processes for COVID-19

With the rise of positive COVID-19 cases throughout our County, we want to make sure our community receives the testing they need, information about quarantine, and our recommendations to avoid exposure in the most transparent way possible. In this section you will find definitions and effective actions for COVID-19 related processes.

Close Contact Exposure: is identified as exposure to a COVID-19 positive person within a 6 foot distance for a total of 15 minutes over a twenty four (24) hour period and applies to any scenario when contact like this is made. The exposure timeline begins two (2) days before the COVID-19 positive person is showing any symptoms or they receive a positive test result.

General COVID-19 Testing:

If you have been in contact with a known COVID-19 positive person, testing is not recommended until you are symptomatic or at least five (5) days have passed since your potential exposure.
Using contact tracing, determined by Island County Department of Health, a close contact person will be recommended for testing, and be placed on quarantine for 14 days.
If it is suspected that you may be COVID-19 positive you may be placed on isolation instead of quarantine. If this is the case, Island County Department of Health will determine the time frame of your isolation and a case will be opened for further investigation.

Effective COVID-19 Quarantine Process:

People exposed to a known COVID-19 positive person are placed on quarantine for 14 days from the day of their exposure.
The final decision for quarantine duration is made by Island County Department of Health, and if you are placed on quarantine, ICDP will remain in contact with you throughout the quarantine process.
It is critical for your safety and the safety of our community, if you are placed on quarantine, and receive a negative test result, that you maintain quarantine for the full duration of the requested time. Testing only captures your state of health at the time of the test and it is possible to become sick anytime 14 days after exposure - so negative test quarantines are just as important to follow as positive test quarantines.
If a person in quarantine becomes ill, Island County Department of Health will help you get a Covid-19 test. This ill person will then be changed from quarantine status to isolation status.

Effective COVID-19 Isolation Process:

People are placed on isolation that are confirmed to be COVID-19 positive and want to keep them from exposing others.
People are placed on isolation that are confirmed to be COVID-19 positive or have many of the COVID-19 symptoms but have not been tested yet.
People placed on isolation should remain so for 10 days from the onset of symptoms or from a positive test result depending on a person's recovery time. Island County Public Health and WA Department of Health will help determine when the isolation can be discontinued.
If you are placed on isolation you should significantly minimize contact with others while recovering from the illness.
The isolation process can be safely stopped under the guidance of the Island County Department of Health. If you are placed on isolation please follow the instructions and guidance provided to you – there are different recovery benchmarks that must be met before the isolation process can safely end.

General Safety Recommendations:

Following these guidelines will help slow the spread of COVID-19 as most of the spread is directly linked to social gatherings and lack of face covers.

Wear an appropriate face cover.
Wash and sanitize your hands frequently.
Avoid crowds (including non-household gatherings).
Limit travel outside of Island County.

Washington Exposure Notifications (WA Notify)

WhidbeyHealth is working with Island County Department of Health and the Washington State Department of Health to help slow the spread of COVID-19 across the county and state. We’ve taken steps to protect the health and safety of our employees throughout this pandemic, and we are continuing to look for opportunities to work with public health agencies to benefit our Whidbey Island community and beyond.

On November 30, Washington State launched WA Exposure Notifications (WA Notify). It uses smartphones to alert users if they may have been exposed to COVID-19. It is completely private, and doesn’t know or track who you are or where you go.

How does it work?

When you enable WA Notify, your smartphone exchanges random, anonymous codes with the phones of people you are near who have also enabled WA Notify. The app uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to exchange these random codes without revealing any information about you. If another WA Notify user you’ve been near in the last two weeks, later tests positive for COVID-19 and adds their verification code to the app, you’ll get an anonymous notification that you’ve had a possible exposure. This lets you get the care you need quickly and helps prevent you from spreading COVID-19 to the people around you.

How do I get WA Notify on my phone?

On an iPhone: Go to settings > Scroll down to Exposure Notifications > Click "Turn on Exposure Notifications" > Select United States > Select Washington

On an Android Phone: Go to the Google Play Store > Download the Washington Exposure Notifications app

For more information about Washington Exposure Notifications please visit https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/WANotify.

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Don't Put Your Health on Hold

We are taking additional steps to keep all of our facilities safe and hygienically clean to protect both patients and staff.

All patients and staff are required to wear masks, wash their hands frequently and practice social distancing when possible.

Don’t delay addressing health concerns, even during the current pandemic. Putting off treatment may worsen your condition. If you feel unwell, contact your provider or a WhidbeyHealth clinic near you.

COVID-19 FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about COVID-19 and Coronavirus.

It is important to understand that information about Coronavirus changes very frequently. We will do our best to keep information here up to date.

Still have questions? Send us a message via our Contact Us page or our Facebook.

Is it safe to come to the hospital or a clinic?

Yes! Safety for our patients and staff is our first priority. Proactive measures include: fever screening on entry, universal use of masks by everyone including patients, and staff is equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) appropriate for any treatment or procedure.

Every WhidbeyHealth facility is configured to make spatial distancing easy. In addition to aggressive cleaning by our Environmental Services team, we have implemented dry fogging disinfecting system to eliminate pathogens beyond the reach of sprays, wipes or UV lights.

How can I get tested for coronavirus infection?

The best thing to do is contact your primary care provider to discuss testing. Call the Coronavirus Hotline to register for swabbing: 360-240-4055.

What are the signs of COVID-19 infection?

People who are infected may have many combinations of symptoms including a fever over 100*F, alternating chills and sweating, shortness of breath, a new cough, and/or severe fatigue. This list does not include all possible symptoms. If you are concerned, contact your Primary Care Provider.

How do I decide when to go to the Emergency Department?

Immediately call 911 if you or a family member is experiencing:

Trouble breathing
Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
New confusion
Inability to wake up or stay awake
Bluish lips or face

This list does not include all possible symptoms. Please call 911 or go to the Emergency Department if you have severe symptoms.

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MAKE A DIFFERENCE

"It takes a village..." has never been more true.

Neighbors and friends all over Whidbey Island have risen up in support of the neighbors and friends at WhidbeyHealth who fight for the lives of COVID-19 patients and are working contain the disease.

From homemade masks to raising money for PPE to feeding our teams, we have been inspired by your support and are deeply grateful.

This fight is not over, and will continue for the foreseeable future. There are many ways to help, including donations to the WhidbeyHealth Foundation, and many non-monetary contributions of time and resources. Click here to learn more about how you can make a difference.

COVID-19

Important Information

Effective Friday, May 12, 2023: WhidbeyHealth Medical Center and Clinics will no longer be operating under coronavirus pandemic-specific policies and procedures.

COVID-19 WIIFM

Important Information

PROCLAMATION 21-14.2: COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Healthcare Institutions

PROCLAMATION 21-14.2:

Updated Masking Guidelines - Effective April 1, 2022

Important Information2

Novavax COVID-19, Adjuvanted Vaccine - IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Monoclonal Antibody (mAb) Infusion Treatments at WhidbeyHealth

Testing

Testing

MyWhidbeyHealth

General Definitions and Effective Processes

Definitions and Effective Processes for COVID-19

Washington Exposure Notifications (WA Notify)

Washington Exposure Notifications (WA Notify)

Don't put your health on hold

Don't Put Your Health on Hold

COVID-19-FAQ

COVID-19 FAQ

How can I help

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

"It takes a village..." has never been more true.

COVID NEWS

COVID NEWS