Washington County Hospital and Clinics has implemented a respiratory triage clinic as COVID-19 cases have been identified across Iowa and in Washington County. The clinic is for people who are experiencing symptoms like cough, shortness of breath, and/or fever. The clinic opened Wednesday. WCHC CEO Todd Patterson explains the clinic is separated from the rest of the facility and steps are taken to protect staff and patients, “So far we have tested 15 people at Washington County Hospital and Clinics. We‘ve had one positive. That individual is not being treated locally. The respiratory triage clinic has given us the ability to test more. We have adequate test kits; we have adequate personal protection equipment, at the moment.” He said it takes about 48 hours for tests to come back on critical status patients, and 7-10 days for commercial tests to come back in less severe cases. During that time people mostly need to be self-isolating.

Patterson said things are changing daily, “I think at the national level one of the things that is of interest is that about 93% of the people who are tested are testing negative. And of those people that test positive, about 80% of them are only getting mild symptoms.” Patients should call WCHC Family Medicine (319-653-7291) to schedule an appointment to be seen at the Respiratory Triage Clinic. Patients will be required to stay in their vehicle until a staff member approaches them with additional instructions. Some evaluation and testing may be done at the patient’s car.

The general public is encouraged to wash their hands frequently for 20 seconds with soap and water, cover coughs and sneezes, and contain illness by staying home when sick.