Important reminders to keep you and your family safe:

• Wear a face mask or cloth covering as soon as you leave your home.
• Practice social distancing of 6 feet or more especially when you go shopping.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place.
• Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and stay away from large gatherings and crowds.
• Consider ways of getting food brought to your house through family, social, or commercial networks.

Do not delay your medical care?

• Call us at (805) 647-6353 to make an appointment: To keep you out of the hospital, please continue to schedule your routine or follow-up appointments with your primary care provider especially if you suffer from chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, heart disease, etc. 
• We are now conducting Telehealth (voice and video) visits to connect with your primary care provider to try to keep you safe at home.
•  Well Child Care visits should be scheduled to ensure that your child/children receive their immunizations on time.
• If you’re pregnant, please schedule your routine visits with your provider and Health Educator when they are due.  

What should you do if you think you're sick, suffering from pain or have COVID 19 symptoms?

Call ahead: .  If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, and may have had contact with a person with COVID-19 or recently traveled to countries with apparent community spread, call your Clinicas provider first before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken.  Contacting us in advance will make sure that people can get the care they need without putting others at risk.  Also, If you are experiencing any pain or acute symptoms, don’t hesitate to call.  Call (805) 647-6353 for an assessment or a telephone consultation.

• If you are asked to come or you show up in person, wait in your car for further instructions. 
• If you are experiencing pain, need a refill and/or need a follow-up visit with your provider, please contact us.  Our Medical, Mental Health, Dental and Optometry Departments continue to be open for business. You will be greeted in your car or at the door and provided with instructions on how to proceed to be seen.
• Dental and Vision emergencies are available.  Please call us in advance to receive instructions on how to proceed to be seen.
• We are now offering telehealth (phone and video) visits for your convenience and to keep everyone safe.

What should you do if you have a non-urgent appointment at Clinicas?

Non-urgent or preventive services may be rescheduled to a later date. Our patients with the above COVID-19 symptoms or people with a dental emergency will be seen at our clinic sites. If your appointment gets rescheduled, you will receive a call at a later date to reschedule your visit.

• Telehealth (phone and video) appointments are now available for routine, non-urgent medical, mental health and health education services.
• Beginning, Friday, March 20, 2020, we will see pediatric well child visits and non-acute visits for pediatric patients ONLY.  It is very important that your child/children receive their immunizations when due.
• We will be re-scheduling all pap smears, breast exams and routine adult physical exams until further notice.
• All elective surgeries have been rescheduled until further notice. This means that we will also be rescheduling all of the pre-op exams.

What is Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are common among animals and humans. This novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is a newly discovered coronavirus that has not been previously detected in animals or humans. The source of this virus is not yet known.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Typically, human coronaviruses cause mild-to-moderate respiratory illness. Symptoms are very similar to the flu, including:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

COVID-19 can cause more severe respiratory illness.

Who is at Higher Risk for Serious Illness from COVID-19?

Early information out of China, where COVID-19 first started, shows that some people are at higher risk of getting very sick from this illness. This includes:

• Older adults (65+)
• Individuals with compromised immune systems
• Individuals who have serious chronic medical conditions like:
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Lung disease

If you are at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19 because of your age or health condition, it is important for you to take actions to reduce your risk of getting sick with the disease, including: 

• • Isolate at home and practice social distancing.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place.
  • Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and stay away from large gatherings and crowds.
  • Consider ways of getting food brought to your house through family, social, or commercial networks.

It is also important that you listen to public health officials who may recommend community actions to reduce potential exposure to COVID-19, especially if COVID-19 is spreading in your community.

For more information on COVID-19:  

Visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus
Visit www.cdph.ca.gov
Visit www.vcemergency.com
Visit www.ventura.org/covid19
Call the 2-1-1 hotline

SOURCE: California Department of Public Health and CDCR