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COVID-19 Updates for Providers

Updated April 6, 2020 at 11:50 am

Virtual Town Hall - Wednesday, April 8

Children's Health℠ will host a virtual Town Hall for community providers next Wednesday, April 8 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. During this time, we will share an update on the Children's Health response to COVID 19, including actions taken to date, planning and operations developments, PPE guidelines and more. There will also be time for a Q&A at the end of the presentation.

For more information, please email Provider Services at ProviderServices@childrens.com or call 214-456-9933.

Children’s Health℠ recognizes that you are on the front lines of the current COVID-19 outbreak as our national and local leaders are asking members of the public to contact you with their concerns about this virus.

In order to help you at this time, we want to keep you up-to-date on any of Children's Health's service changes related to COVID-19 and share a list of current COVID-19 testing guidelines that we are following as well as suggested guidelines for you in your office.

Children’s Health current processes for COVID-19 testing

In-house COVID-19 testing is currently available at the Dallas campus lab for a limited amount of Children’s Health patients. At this time, Children’s Health is not testing external patients as we have limited capacity for the volume of testing we can perform. All other patient testing will continue to be routed to the health department or referral laboratories.

Given current constraints, testing is being focused on admitted patients and those with underlying medical conditions associated with higher risk of more serious infection. Testing is being done at the discretion of the Children’s Health physician.

Tents for expanded Emergency Department capacity at Children’s Medical Center Dallas 

As part of our continued planning, we are setting up a tent outside of the Children’s Medical Center Dallas Emergency Department to be used in the event we receive higher patient volumes. It will not be used as an area for COVID‑19 testing. We will continue to update you as this situation evolves. 

Changes to non-emergency surgery and appointments

At Children’s Health, the safety of our patients, team members and community remain our primary focus. Please know that we are maintaining operations, continuing to see current patients and accept new patients when it is safe and prudent to do so.

With that in mind, and in light of the evolving novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, we are strategically adjusting our operations based on the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommending continued social distancing, including prioritizing urgent and emergency visits and procedures.

Learn more about surgery and appointment changes

Recommendations for community providers

We recommend that physicians use clinical judgment when choosing to test a pediatric patient. Please realize that both nationally and internationally very few of the pediatric patients have tested positive for COVID-19.

  • What should I do if I have a patient who needs to be admitted?

    As always, if you feel a patient needs to be admitted, or needs to be seen in the Emergency Department for treatment, please send them to us. Please let us know if you suspect COVID-19 prior to sending them by calling the ED referral team at 214-456-8145. These patients and symptomatic family members will need to put on a mask prior to entering the hospital. Please provide a mask if possible. If the family doesn’t have a mask, then they need to ask for one as soon as they arrive.

    Please do not send people to the Emergency Department only for specimen collection or testing.

  • When should I send my patient home for self-isolation?

    One option to consider, if you are concerned about possible COVID-19 but testing is not sent, is to send the patient home for self-isolation until 72 hours after the fever is gone and symptoms get better. If their condition worsens, send them to the Emergency Department.

    Per the recommendation of our local health department, any patient who undergoes COVID-19 testing and does not require hospitalization should isolate at home until the test result is obtained. Any patients with a positive test should remain at home for at least 7 days and until 72 hours after fever resolves and respiratory symptoms get better, whichever is longer.

  • What can I do if I have other questions?

    If you have any questions about how Children’s Health will support your patients should you determine they require a higher level of care, please call one of the following departments:

Additionally, we continue to update our COVID-19 content with helpful information for you and the community at large. We will communicate directly with you when we have updated information to share.

We appreciate your patience as we work to provide information during this rapidly evolving situation. Thank you for your collaboration, cooperation and support and for your continued trust in Children’s Health with your patients’ health care needs.