St. Mary’s and Clearwater Valley Hospitals & Clinics are working to manage this rapidly evolving situation. Please read.

The North Central Health District has a hotline dedicated to assisting the public. If you have any questions about coronavirus or think you may be displaying symptoms, call 208-748-0400 or 1-866-736-6632.  Please call this number before visiting a physician’s office or emergency department.

Think you may have coronavirus? Here’s what to do.

• Process for Screening for COVID-19 (as of 3/2/2020)
  • If you have:Fever (greater than 100.4) and lower respiratory illness (cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing) and have traveled to affected areas within the previous 14 days or have had close contact with lab-confirmed COVID-19 patient within previous 14 days, please call the North Central Health District hotline at 208-748-0400or 1-866-736-6632.If you believe you have Coronavirus/COVID-19 based on meeting all of these criteria and need emergency care, please call the Emergency Department prior to arrival at (208) 476-4555 in Orofino or 208-962-3251 in Cottonwood. Staff will direct you what to do, which may mean staying in your car until staff can meet you outside.

Coronavirus/COVID-19

St. Mary’s and Clearwater Valley Hospitals & Clinics are actively working on preparedness for COVID-19/Coronavirus. The situation is rapidly changing.

Guidelines to the public:

• Avoid the emergency room unless it’s essential. The emergency room is trying to limit any possible exposure and serve those with critical needs.
• Stay home if you’re sick – even if symptoms are mild.
• Practice good personal hygiene habits, including handwashing, coughing into your elbow, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

As of right now, our policy is for NO visitors EXCEPT in the following circumstances:

• Obstetric patients may have one partner and one birth support person accompany them.
  • No children under the age of 16                         
• Patients who are under the age of 18
  • May have one visitor, or parents or guardians
• For the Nursery:
  • Birth parent plus one significant other
• Patients who are at the end-of-life
  • May have 2 visitors

We reserve the right to deny access to ANY visitor that appears unhealthy, is displaying symptoms of sickness or is running a fever.

The most up to date information on this rapidly changing situation can be found on the CDC website.

You can also receive Idaho-specific updates at coronavirus.idaho.gov.

Important to note about the illness:

• Most people with COVID-19 will have mild illness
• Not everyone needs to be tested and testing is not yet widely available
• We are actively working on plans to care for patients with severe coronavirus
• High-risk patients for severe coronavirus disease are older and have comorbidities (other health issues)

Testing

The state laboratory makes the determination on when to accept samples for testing based on the CDC criteria due to the limited number of test kits currently available.

St. Mary’s and Clearwater Valley Hospitals & Clinics are working closely with the North Central Health District and Kootenai Health on preparedness.

To see the most up to date information for Idaho please visit: https://coronavirus.idaho.gov/frequently-asked-questions/