Home > Huntington Hospital Services > Emergency & Trauma Center > Hospital Preparedness & COVID-19 Information

Hospital Preparedness & COVID-19 Information

Last updated: 6/4/2020

Welcome to the Huntington Hospital COVID-19 site. Please consider this page as a resource for you and your family. We will also keep this page updated with important notifications to patients, visitors and the community about our hospital operations.

Huntington Hospital COVID-19 Testing Results Dashboard

For patient tests conducted between March 6, 2020 and June 5, 2020

Total Patients
Tested		Total Negative
Patients Tested		Total Positive
Patients Tested		Total Pending
Tests		Current Hospitalized Patients
with COVID-19
461640675351322
Data reflects lab results from 9:00 AM daily
Huntington Hospital has been testing for COVID-19 along CDC guidelines to include high-risk individuals, those who are very ill and require hospital care, healthcare providers and other high-likelihood individuals due to known exposures. The number of positive patients may not indicate overall prevalence of COVID-19 in the outside community.

As the tested resource for our community during previous infectious diseases such as MERS and SARS, Huntington Hospital is prepared to respond to this pathogen along with our partners at Pasadena Public Health.

Important Phone Numbers

Our Community Says Thank You to Healthcare Providers

We love all the wonderful messages of thanks we have received from the community.

    • You can share messages or pictures here.

    For formal media engagement with our hospital, or if you are considering including us in a story, please refer to our Media Policy here.

    COVID-19 FAQs

    Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and answers from our Huntington Hospital experts.

    • We continue to urge our community members to take extra precautions to keep yourself and those around you safe. On April 2, 2020  the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LAC DPH) and the CDC shared the update that a person could be considered contagious 48 hours before symptom onset, instead of the first day of symptom onset.
    • We strongly advise you to continue in social distancing and self-isolation measures as we learn more about this virus.
    • In addition, continue to wash your hands thoroughly, cover your mouth with your elbow or tissue if you sneeze and do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth, especially with unwashed hands.
    • As always, please continue to review the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19 on our website, as well as the CDC.
    • Should you begin to feel sick, please call your physician who can advise you on next steps.
    • If you do come to our Emergency Room for severe COVID symptoms, we are asking that you please leave all valuables/belongings at home. For the safety of our patients and staff, we will not be returning any clothing or other fabric items (e.g., blankets, pillows) that were in isolation. We will hold all other belongings for pick up for 30 days. Please contact Patient Relations at (626) 397-5211 with questions. We appreciate your understanding during this unprecedented health crisis.
    • Yes, at this time, we are testing patients for COVID-19 who require emergency care and are showing related symptoms – for example, patients experiencing a very high fever and shortness of breath.
    • Get more information on our COVID-19 Testing page.
    • Most people who suspect they have COVID-19 will not need to come to the hospital.
      • If you are feeling unwell but not experiencing a medical emergency, you should stay home and avoid contact with others. You should call your physician, too.
      • If you are experiencing symptoms that include a fever, dry cough and body aches, please call your physician immediately. Your doctor will advise next steps.
      • Patients who do not exhibit COVID-19 symptoms or aren’t ill enough to seek care in an emergency setting should please call their primary care provider with requests to be tested.
      • If you do not have a primary care physician, we strongly urge you to look for one. You can also call urgent care when you are too sick to stay home but not sick enough to require emergency or hospital care.
    • The hospital should be the last line of treatment at this time, and it’s important that we all work together to prioritize those most severely and seriously in need.

    While we are not taking plasma donations at our Blood Donation locations, the Red Cross has put out a call for plasma donation from COVID-19 survivors. Learn how to donate plasma on the Red Cross plasma donation page here: https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/plasma-donations-from-recovered-covid-19-patients.html

    Our infectious disease specialist, Kim Shriner, M.D., provides more detail.

    • We have closed the hospital to all visitors to minimize exposure to its frontline healthcare workers, whose ongoing good health is essential to dealing with this pandemic.
    • Please understand that our no visitor policy during the COVID-19 pandemic is essential to support the health and safety of our caregivers.
    • For the safety of everyone, we are unable to allow visitation for any patient that has been tested positive or is in the process of being tested for COVID-19.
    • The only exceptions to our no-visitor policy include:
      • One healthy parent at a time for hospitalized pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit patients;
      • One healthy visitor to drop off and pick up all patients having procedures, including out-patient surgery, GI lab, radiology, catheterization lab. Once the patient has arrived in the procedure area, the visitor must leave the hospital campus. Upon completion of the patient’s procedure, the family will be called and notified of next steps related to when the patient will be ready to go home and instructions for how to reunite with the patient at the hospital so they may go home.
      • One healthy visitor to drop off a patient in the emergency department. Once the patient is taken back into the care area, the visitor must leave campus and wait for a phone call. Visitors may wait in their cars or at an off-campus location. The only exception to this is that one healthy parent of a patient under the age of 18 will be allowed back into the care area with their child.
    • Exceptions may be made for those patients receiving end-of-life care or who have extraordinary circumstances, in which case the nursing team will make the determination.
    • We have also restricted the visitor policy for expectant mothers:
      • Only one healthy birth partner is allowed to accompany the patient.
      • One healthy birth partner for Labor & Delivery and Mother-Baby Unit.
      • Only the patient will be allowed to enter the Obstetrical Emergency Department.
      • The designated birth partner, along with the patient, will remain in the hospital room at all times during their stay. We will provide meals and other basic care supplies (toothbrush, toothpaste, chapstick, etc.)
      • The birth partner should remain symptom-free and temperature will be taken every shift by a Registered Nurse (RN).

    Any visitor who exhibits signs and symptoms of illness may not visit hospitalized patients.

    Disruptive individuals will be asked to leave the campus.

    Thank you for helping us lower the risk of exposure our healthcare workers who are caring for our patients.

    • There has been an ongoing strain on critical hospital supplies since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.
    • We are preparing to care for those patients most at-risk by taking steps to preserve limited supplies of essential medical resources.
    • Crucial supplies are made in China where many plants have been closed and need at this time is substantially outpacing available resources.
    • We continue to work with local health and other government authorities to address supply issues.
    • We are working with the City of Pasadena to explore alternate care site options for our community should we need more beds than we have available.
    • We are hopeful that the social distancing measures help flatten the curve and we can avoid a large surge of COVID-19 patients who require hospital care.
    • We have a surge plan that we will activate when needed to ensure all beds at the hospital are available to care for the sickest patients. 
    • We are also collaborating with local public health departments as well as other hospitals via the Hospital Association of Southern California and the California Hospital Association. 

    • Yes, and due to patient privacy laws, we cannot comment further about patient specifics.
    • As with all communicable diseases, we have a well-defined process in place to ensure the health and safety of our patients, physicians, nurses, employees and volunteers, which reflects best practices and necessary precautions.
    • This process has been successful in preventing the spread of such diseases, and we will continue to draw upon our extensive expertise dealing with communicable diseases to serve our community.
    • Our hospital has strict protocols in place to support infection prevention measures, following best practices and necessary precautions. This includes temperature screenings at the entrance of our hospital.
    • Further, the architecture of the maternal-child unit is naturally separate from the rest of the hospital. Labor and Delivery as well as our post-partum maternity units sit are a separate annex (similar to a wing), with a secure entrance.
    • Safety is our top priority for our expectant mothers. As a result, we have restricted the visitor policy and allow only one health birth partner to accompany the patient. Get the details in this PDF.
    • For more information, please visit www.huntingtonhospital.org/baby. 
    • Our hospital is providing free online childbirth preparation and breastfeeding classes to our expectant mothers, available through June 30th.
    • We are working to make sure you receive the necessary resources to have a comfortable pregnancy and feel ready delivery.
    • For more information, please visit our Huntington Baby page.

    We are proud to share a number of telehealth service options available to our community: Huntington Health Physicians Telehealth Services and Exer VirtualCare.

    Huntington Health Physicians Telehealth Services

    Huntington Health Physicians (HHP), our partner physician network, is now offering telehealth services to provide our community with access to quality healthcare from the convenience and safety of their homes.

    HHP offers easy setup for new patients, a private and secure connection, and coverage by most major insurances, including Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

    For current HHP patients:

    For more details, call your Huntington Health Physician’s office or visit our website at www.huntingtonhospital.org/hhptelehealth.

    Not a current HHP patient?

    While HHP physicians are offering this service to all of their current patients, new patients may be able to sign-up, though availability is limited. If you do not already have a primary physician, please go to www.huntingtonhospital.org/hhplocations to determine the most convenient office for you. Speak with their office staff for a referral to a physician currently accepting patients.

    Exer VirtualCare

    Additionally, Huntington Hospital has an affiliation with Exer Urgent Care Pasadena and La Canada to support access to care when community members can’t wait to see their primary care doctor but aren’t in need of emergency care. Exer is now offering similar telehealth services for their urgent care patients. Built and staffed by Huntington Hospital’s ER physicians, these locations offer an ER alternative to our community.

    To learn more about their Telehealth services, please visit: http://exerurgentcare.com/virtualcare-exer-care-anytime-anywhere/

    Learn how you can help Huntington Hospital by donating blood, making a financial gift, or donating medical supplies.

    Visit our How You Can Help page here.

    Please note that we cannot accept donations of food. We know that feeding people is a powerful expression of caring, and our community generously wants to care for those who are caring for others – for example, our wonderful employees and physicians. Unfortunately, donations of perishable food cause infection prevention concerns.

    Due to storage space limitations and safety issues, we are asking patients entering the hospital for COVID-19 illness to leave all valuables/belongings at home.

    • For the safety of our patients and staff, we will not be returning any clothing or other fabric items (e.g., blankets, pillows) that were in isolation.
    • We will hold all other belongings for pick up for 30 days.
    • Please contact Patient Relations at (626) 397-5211 with questions.

    We appreciate your understanding during this unprecedented health crisis.

    COVID-19 Resources

    Community COVID-19 Resources

    FAQs about COVID-19 (CDC) (also available in Spanish and Chinese)Date Modified: 5/24/2020
    WHO COVID-19 Updates (WHO)Date Modified: 5/25/2020
    How to Protect Yourself from COVID-19 (CDC) (also available in Spanish) Date Modified: 4/24/2020
    What To Do If You Are Sick with COVID-19 (CDC)Date Modified: 5/8/2020
    Who Is At Higher Risk for Serious Illness from COVID-19? (CDC)Date Modified: 5/14/2020
    Home Isolations Instructions for COVID-19 (LA County Department of Public Health)Date Modified: 5/26/2020
    COVID-19 and the Blood Supply: Donate Blood Today (Huntington Hospital)Date Modified: 5/15/2020
    Prevent Getting SickDate Modified: 5/7/2020

    Healthcare Provider COVID-19 Resources

    Clinician Checklist: Evaluating Patients Who May Have COVID-19 (LA County Department of Public Health)Date Modified: 3/24/2020
    Talking to Your Patients About COVID-19, and When to Call the Hospital or Public Health (Huntington Hospital)Date Modified: 3/4/2020

    Trusted Health Authorities

    Check the Following Health Authority Websites Regularly

    Pasadena Public Health Department https://www.cityofpasadena.net/public-health/

    Los Angeles County Department of Public Health http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/

    Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/

    World Health Organization (WHO) https://www.who.int/

    COVID-19 UPDATE: Restricted visitor policy. COVID-19 line (626) 397-3777. Learn how you can help. Please, no donations of food.  >> READ MORE
    close
    open