Title
Medical Director’s Report - Dr. Zun
Body
Physical Health
Provider Collaboration
• The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many staffing challenges.
Clinic Operations
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been modifying services and locations to ensure we meet the needs of the community. Staff illness and self-quarantine limits the number of sites and services we can fully staff. We are moving to telephonic and telehealth visits for physical health as quickly as possible. We have prioritized immunization/well baby services, urgent care visits and caring for patients infected with COVID-19.
External Relations
• Rosalind Franklin/Chicago Medical School has provided many students to assist Prevention’s Communicable Disease staff with contact investigations. We are quite appreciative of their service.
Regulatory
• Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services are being strictly followed.
Behavioral Health
Provider Collaboration
• There have been applicants for various positions including outpatient addictions, but at this time all hiring is frozen.
Clinic Operations
• We have moved to remote care for all patients. It has been primarily by phone, but we are developing a video interface process.
External Relations
• Medical student experiences and nursing practicums have been suspended.
Regulatory
• Governor’s Executive Order and various federal agencies have relaxed regulation on telehealth, so patients can be physically located at home with Provider being located at the office or elsewhere.
• DEA and SAMHSA have also implemented emergency temporary regulatory changes to allow remote visits for addictions and less frequent dosing of methadone.
Dental Health
Provider Collaboration
• Dental team members are assisting with other duties as assigned within the Health Department.
Clinic Operations
• As of March 31, 2020 we are providing emergency care at our Northshore and Zion locations. Services are aligned with those delineated by guidelines from the American Dental Association. Service locations may change contingent upon volume. This restriction is until further notice.
o CDC Recommendation: Postpone Non-Urgent Dental Procedures, Surgeries, and Visits (updated: March 27, 2020): In order to protect staff and preserve personal protective equipment and patient care supplies, as well as expand available hospital capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends <https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/healthcare-facilities/index.html> that dental facilities postpone elective procedures, surgeries, and non-urgent dental visits, and prioritize urgent and emergency visits and procedures now and for the coming several weeks. This aligns with recommendations from the American Dental Association external icon <https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2020-archive/march/ada-recommending-dentists-postpone-elective-procedures> (ADA) and the ’American Dental Hygienists association external icon <https://www.adha.org/covid19> (ADHA) to postpone non-emergency and elective dental procedures, as well the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)’s guidance pdf icon external icon <https://www.cms.gov/files/document/31820-cms-adult-elective-surgery-and-procedures-recommendations.pdf> that all non-essential dental exams and procedures be postponed until further notice. The urgency and need for a procedure are decisions based on clinical judgement and should be made on a case-by-case basis.
External Relations
• On March 19, 2020, Dr. Cockey participated in a Dentist Preceptor Meeting at UIC Dental School in Chicago. Our agency has served as a teaching site for dental students from UIC Dental School.
Regulatory
• EPA 2020 Amalgam Separator Requirement: We are now compliant with this requirement as each of our dental sites has an amalgam separator.
• Our quarterly dental waterline testing planned for the month of March has been postponed.
Suggested Motion
None, for information only.