Updated November 18, 2021

We know that you may have concerns about visiting a medical facility with COVID-19 still in our local communities. Your health and safety is always our top priority. We’ve put in place many precautions to help keep you safe:

Can I see a doctor by video rather than in-person?

Yes, in many cases. Many symptoms and conditions can be cared for via video visits, including most follow up care for ongoing conditions, and even care for new symptoms that pop up. Just like an in-person visit, a video visit is a scheduled appointment with a provider – using secure video conferencing technology. All you need is 15 minutes, a smartphone or tablet, and a quiet, private location.

What are you doing to clean and disinfect?

John Muir Health is following cleaning and disinfection guidelines recommended by the CDC and California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), as well as instructions from John Muir Health infection prevention specialists.

Hospital cleaning procedures

• We regularly clean all high-touch surfaces (anything people commonly touch such as door handles, armchairs, counters, etc.) using CDC-recommended cleaning & disinfecting supplies.
• We clean every occupied inpatient room daily. We also clean and disinfect every vacant room before the next patient arrives.
• We deep clean any isolation precaution rooms in our hospitals, Behavioral Health Center and outpatient facilities where we have cared for patients with symptoms of COVID-19.

Urgent care center and physician office cleaning procedures

• Waiting areas:
  • We clean and disinfect regularly; special attention is paid to high-touch surfaces such as door knobs, chair arms, and the reception desk – including disinfecting pens. We also complete a room cleaning log.
  • We have a number of clean pens and a location to put used pens to be ready for disinfecting, so it’s clear which pens are clean. You may also bring a pen if you are more comfortable using your own pen.
  • We disinfect clip boards after every use. For credit card payments, we’ll have you swipe your own card.
  • We have removed common-use items such as brochures, toys, magazines, books, etc.
• Exam rooms:
  • We clean and disinfect each exam room thoroughly between patients, including any medical equipment used (exam bed, blood pressure cuffs, ultrasound machines, etc.) as well as counters, computer monitors and keyboards, chairs, etc. We also complete a room cleaning log.
  • We have removed common-use items such as brochures, toys, magazines, books, etc.

Behavioral Health Center, Outpatient Services cleaning procedures

• We clean and disinfect frequently, including our program rooms.

Medical Imaging departments cleaning procedures

• We are cleaning the rooms appropriately after each exam.  

Are staff and patients required to wear masks?

As of June 15, 2021, California and the nine Bay Area counties "opened up" and aligned guidelines for masking with those recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These guidelines state that masks are still required in health care facilities, for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. For the protection of all, everyone who enters a John Muir Health facility is required to wear a medical face mask while in our facilities, including staff, physicians, volunteers, patients and visitors. 

• All patients and visitors are given commercially produced medical face masks upon entry into our physician practices, hospitals, urgent care centers and Behavioral Health Center, Outpatient Services facility.
• Patients may not wear cloth face coverings, cloth masks, or masks that have a valve (small plastic disk on front of mask) while in John Muir Health facilities. This is because these masks do not provide as much protection against droplet release as medical face masks. Patients who arrive wearing one of these masks can either change masks or place a medical face mask over the one they are wearing.
• Patients and visitors in our hospitals will be given a new mask each day.

Are you screening people before they enter facilities?

Before entering any of our facilities, all patients, visitors, staff and physicians undergo routine symptom screening.

• Screening for symptoms helps us catch any potential illness that a person may not yet be aware of themselves.
• The screening process includes quickly responding to a few brief COVID-19 symptom screening questions. 
  
• Anyone who says yes to any of the COVID-19 screening questions will not be permitted to enter our facilities.

Can patients have visitors in the hospital?

We are committed to meeting the needs of our patients while maintaining the safest possible environment for our staff and visitors. These guidelines were developed to address the evolving priorities of safe care while meeting the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of our patients and are reflective of current state and local requirements. Our goal is to reduce unnecessary risk and enhance the protection of all who are in our facilities. Thank you for your compliance and understanding with these guidelines. 

In order to keep our patients and team safe, all visitors must adhere to the following:

• Visitors must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and show proof of vaccination upon arriving to the facility or they must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test (test must occur within 72 hours of each visit).
  • Fully vaccinated means that it has been two weeks or more since a person has received the second dose in a two-dose series, or two weeks or more since a person has received the single-dose vaccine.
    
  • Acceptable proof of vaccine options are available here. Please note that we will not accept at-home tests as proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Digital vaccine records are available through the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) here. If you are having trouble downloading your vaccination record, the CDPH has FAQs.
  • Partially or unvaccinated visitors must show proof of a negative SARS-CoV-2 test, where the test occurred within 72 hours before each visit.
  • Rapid testing for COVID-19 is not available onsite at any John Muir Health facility. Find out where to get a COVID-19 test here.
  • Requirements for the Women’s and Children’s Division are as follows in the event that a visitor is not fully vaccinated:
    
    • Upon admission, the unit will communicate that the designated visitor(s) will have up to 72 hours to provide a negative COVID test result. Upon receiving results, they will need to continue providing negative test results every 72 hours.  
    • Parents and legal guardians of patients when their presence is legally necessary to make decisions about care and treatment for a minor child.  Visitation will be limited to no more than two hours if unvaccinated or with no proof of negative COVID test within 72 hours..
  • Exceptions:
    • Visitors of patients in critical condition nearing end-of-life.
    • Fire, police, ambulance, and other pre-hospital care workers if they are entering the facility while on duty for their job.
    • Support persons for a patient with physical, intellectual, developmental disability, or cognitive impairment when the facility has determined that allowing their presence is required as a reasonable accommodation to support the patient with a disability.
    • Visitors with power of attorney when the visit is to address legal matters that cannot be postponed or accomplished virtually.
    • Visitors who have tested positive for COVID within the past 90 days. Visitor must show proof of positive COVID test, have completed their minimum 10-day isolation period, and must NOT be symptomatic.  
• Visitors must perform hand hygiene upon entering and exiting the patient’s room.  
• Visitors must wear their mask covering their nose and mouth at all times. There are no exceptions.
• Visitors will not be allowed to eat or drink in patient rooms.
• We will not be storing food brought from the outside for patients.
• Visitors may be asked to leave the patient’s room and wait in a defined location in the event care needs to be provided during your visit.
• Timing of visitation may be adjusted by the unit leadership for special circumstances, especially at end of life and/or when patient first being admitted to the unit from the ED or other location.
• Household members who have been exposed to a COVID + person prior to admission may not visit for 14 days after exposure.

Visitation (Non-COVID-19 Patients)

• TWO healthy visitors will be allowed to visit at a time without limits to who those two people are as long as they have been screened.  Two designated visitors will be allowed for children admitted to PICU and NICU. 
• Number of visitors may be different if a patient is in a semi-private room or an open bay.  Visitor(s) for these patients may be asked to wait to ensure social distancing.
• Visitors may be asked to leave the patient’s room and wait in a defined location in the event care needs to be provided during your visit.
• Overnight visitors will be restricted.
• Exceptions to the above will be made for patients in Women’s and Children’s.  

Visitation (COVID-19 + Patients)
All visitors for COVID-19 + patients must be preapproved by clinical leaders of the unit.

• Visitors will be allowed ONE- 15 minute visit in the following circumstances if they have signed the Visitor Agreement for Patients with COVID-19 and will comply with guidelines 
• • For end of life decisions: Up to two (2) visitors who will visit outside the patient room and to consult with the Care Team.
  • For  End of Life or for patients that the Physician and Care Team feel that a visit may significantly improve outcomes: One designated visitor is allowed inside the patient’s room.

FOR UPDATES for patients with COVID-19:  Primary nurse will identify a spokesperson and call them with an update twice daily.  

 Can patients bring someone with them to in-person appointments at physician offices, urgent care centers or the Behavioral Health Center, Outpatient Services facility?

For the safety of our patients, visitors, physicians and staff, we continue to adjust visitation guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 across our outpatient care locations. Our precautions are consistent with the guidelines issued by the California Department of Public Health, as well as Contra Costa and neighboring counties. 

• All patients and visitors must follow proper infection prevention practices, including masking, hand sanitizing and physical distancing from others not part of their group at all times while in the building.

• At point of entry, all patients and visitors accompanying patients, regardless of vaccination status, will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms. 
  • If you do not have symptoms, you will be able to proceed to your appointment. 
  • If you do have symptoms, your provider will be notified and you will either be seen with appropriate precautions, asked to reschedule or directed to Urgent Care. 
    
• Two designated visitors, not necessarily from the same household, may accompany a patient during an outpatient visit or procedure, if needed, to: 
  • Help facilitate care or treatment; 
  • Assist patients with wheelchair, walking, translation, or other care/support; 
  • Facilitate complex care decisions.

• Two parents/guardians, not necessarily from the same household, are permitted to accompany pediatric patients during outpatient visits.

• Minimizing the number of siblings who accompany the parent/guardian and patient to the visit is recommended, but not required.
  
  
• Clinics / Medical Offices may ask visitors to wait in the waiting area or outside if required for social distancing.

Is John Muir Health making the vaccine mandatory for employees?

Yes. We are requiring that all of our employees be fully vaccinated by September 30. Until that date, any unvaccinated staff will be regularly tested for COVID-19. As a health care provider, we feel it's our responsibility to do everything we can to keep our staff and patients safe and to do our part to help end the pandemic.