Idaho COVID-19 Info

CRISIS STANDARDS OF CARE

Copied from the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare (Dec. 8, 2020)

What are crisis standards of care?

Crisis standards of care are guidelines that help healthcare providers and healthcare systems decide how to deliver the best care possible under the extraordinary circumstances of a disaster or a public health emergency. Crisis standards of care guidelines would be used when resources are insufficient to provide the usual standard of care to people who need it. The goal of crisis standards of care is to save as many lives as possible. During a disaster, such as an earthquake or a pandemic, healthcare systems may be so overwhelmed by patients, or resources may be so scarce, that it may not be possible to provide all patients the level of care they would receive under normal circumstances. In those situations, crisis standards of care would guide decisions about how to allocate scarce resources, such as hospital beds, medications, or breathing machines.

Read on: https://coronavirus.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Crisis-Standards-of-Care-FAQs-20201208-1.pdf

From the Centers for Disease Control:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/open-america/contact-tracing-resources.html

Contact tracing steps

Person is answering a call from a contact tracer at the health department.

Generally, contact tracing includes the following steps:

Case investigation: Public health staff work with a patient to help them recall everyone they have had close contact with during the time they may have been infectious.
Contact tracing: Public health staff begin contact tracing by notifying exposed people (contacts) of their potential exposure as rapidly and sensitively as possible, not revealing the infected patient’s identity.
Contact support: Contacts are provided with education, information, and support to help them understand their risk, what they should do to separate themselves from others who are not exposed, and how to monitor themselves for illness. In addition, they are informed of the possibility that they could spread the infection to others even if they do not feel ill.
Self-quarantine: Contacts are encouraged to stay home, monitor their health, and maintain social distance (at least 6 feet) from others until 14 days after their last exposure to the infected patient, in case they also become ill.

LEARN MORE HERE https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/contact-tracing.html