Information for Hospitals & Healthcare Professionals

DSHS has compiled the following resources to assist hospitals and healthcare professionals in their planning and response to COVID‑19.

On this page:

• Evaluating Patients
• Requests for Assistance from DSHS (PPE, etc.)
• Preparedness Tools
• Recent Developments in Treatment & Products
• Hospital Reporting Requirements
• Isolation Precautions for COVID-19
• Resuming Elective Procedures
• Resources for Pharmacies
• Infection Control
• Postmortem Guidance
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Laboratory Testing

• Evaluating Patients
• Phone Advice Line Tools (CDC)
• Evaluating and Testing Persons for COVID‑19 (CDC)
• DSHS COVID-19 Testing Algorithm for DSHS Austin Public Health Laboratory (PDF, V.2.0, updated 4/17/2020)
• DSHS COVID-19 Testing Algorithm for Non-Austin Public Health Laboratories in Texas (PDF, V.6.0, updated 4/17/2020)
• Preparedness Tools
• DSHS COVID-19 Long-Term Care Facility Line List Template (XLSX, V.1.0, released 4/10/2020)
• DSHS COVID-19 Long-Term Care Facility Staff Symptom Monitoring Log (XLSX, V.1.0, released 4/10/2020)
• Information about COVID-19 for Nursing Facilities/Long-term Care Facilities (HHSC)
• Preparing Outpatient and Ambulatory Care Centers for COVID-19 (CDC)
• Training for Healthcare Professionals (CDC)
• Mitigate Healthcare Personnel Staffing Shortages (CDC)
• Healthcare Personnel Preparedness Checklist (CDC)
• Hospital Preparedness Tool (CDC)
• Hospital Reporting Requirements
  On March 24, 2020, Gov. Abbott issued an Executive Order relating to daily reporting during the COVID‑19 disaster. For more information, see the following:
• COVID‑19 Texas Hospital Reporting Requirements (PDF, V.2.0, updated 4/20/2020)
• COVID-19 Hospital Bed Reporting Data Dictionary (PDF, V.2.0, updated 4/21/2020)
• Resuming Elective Procedures
  A licensed healthcare facility wishing to resume elective surgeries or procedures covered within Governor Abbott’s Executive Order No. GA‑15 must email a letter to the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) certifying that it will:
  • Reserve at least 25% of its hospital capacity for treatment of COVID‑19 patients, accounting for the range of clinical severity of COVID‑19 patients; and
  • Not request any personal protective equipment from any public source, whether federal, state, or local, for the duration of the COVID‑19 disaster.
  The format, content, and submission requirements for the certification letter can be found in HHSC's Executive Order GA-15 Licensed Health Care Facilities Certification Guidance Letter. For any questions, please contact the HHSC Policy, Rules, and Training Unit at HCQ_PRT@hhsc.state.tx.us.
  
  
• Infection Control
• What Healthcare Personnel Should Know about Caring for Patients with Confirmed or Possible COVID‑19 Infection (CDC)
• COVID-19 Infection Control (CDC)
• Strategies to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF) (CDC)
• Interim Additional Guidance for Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 in Outpatient Hemodialysis Facilities (CDC)
• Interim Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Dental Settings (CDC)
• Care for Breastfeeding Women (CDC)
• Disinfecting Your Facility if Someone is Sick (CDC)
• TCEQ Guidance on Disposal of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Contaminated Waste
• DSHS COVID-19 Guidance for Public Health Home Service Providers (ENGLISH) (PDF, V.4.0, updated 5/07/2020)
• DSHS COVID-19 Guidance for Public Health Home Service Providers (SPANISH) (PDF, V.4.0, updated 5/08/2020)
• COVID-19—Fighting Products (Center for Biocide Chemistries)
• EPA-Registered Antimicrobial Products for Use Against SARS-CoV-2, the Cause of COVID-19 (EPA)
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Healthcare Supply of PPE (CDC)
• Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of PPE (CDC)
• PPE Burn Rate Calculator (CDC)
• CDC Information about Decontamination of PPE
• How to properly don (put on), use, and doff (remove) PPE (CDC)
• Strategies for Best N95 Respirator Fit in Times of Crisis (CDC)
• Fit Testing During Emerging Infectious Disease Outbreaks (CDC)
• Considerations for Release of Stockpiled N95s Beyond the Manufacturer-Designated Shelf Life (CDC)
• FDA Information on PPE for Infection Control
• DSHS Information on PPE (PDF, V.1.0, posted 3/22/2020)
• DSHS Strategies for Optimizing Supply of PPE (PDF, V.2.0, updated 4/07/2020)
• Requests for Assistance from DSHS (PPE, etc.)
  Hospitals and healthcare professionals should follow their normal process of trying to locate emergency medical supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other healthcare resources with their regular vendors and exhaust all possible options. These options may include contacting any sister facilities for coordination, reaching out to local partners or stakeholders, looking at any possible reallocations within the Public Health Region, Healthcare Coalition, Regional Advisory Council regions, or other medical supply agencies, given established priority groups. If hospitals and healthcare professionals cannot obtain any PPE from their vendor(s) and have exhausted all alternative options, they should send their official requests to their local office of emergency management via the State of Texas Assistance Request (STAR) process. Please ensure you provide all relevant details for your request, to include type of item, POC information, and delivery address.
  
  
• Recent Developments in COVID-19 Treatment & Products
• NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines
• Stanford Medicine’s Research on PPE Decontamination
• Minnesota Department of Health Guidance on Alternative Facemasks
• Optimizing Ventilator Use during COVID-19 (U.S. Health and Human Services)
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorizations
• Nebraska Medicine’s Protocol for UV Decontamination of N95 Respirators
• CDC Information for Clinicians on Therapeutic Options for COVID-19 Patients
• Isolation Precautions for COVID-19
• DSHS Interim Guidance for Persons Isolated at Home, including Healthcare Personnel, with Confirmed or Probable COVID‑19 (ENGLISH) (PDF, V.4.0, updated 5/19/2020)
• DSHS Interim Guidance for Persons Isolated at Home, including Healthcare Personnel, with Confirmed or Probable COVID‑19 (SPANISH) (PDF, V.4.0, updated 5/26/2020)
• DSHS Strategies for Releasing Cases and Contacts from Home Isolation and Quarantine (PDF, V.2.1, updated 5/19/2020)
• DSHS Strategies for Healthcare Personnel with Confirmed or Probable COVID-19 to Return to Work from Home Isolation (PDF, V.2.2, updated 5/19/2020)
• CDC Symptom-Based Strategy to Discontinue Isolation for Persons with COVID-19
• CDC Interim Guidance on Discontinuation of Transmission-Based Precautions and Disposition of Patients in Healthcare Settings
• CDC Interim Guidance on Criteria for Return to Work for Healthcare Personnel with Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19
• CDC Guidance for Immunocompromised Individuals
• Resources for Pharmacies
• Strategies for Managing Pseudoephedrine Purchases during the COVID-19 Disaster Declaration (PDF, V.1.0, posted 4/15/2020)
• Considerations for Pharmacies during the COVID-19 Pandemic (CDC)
• Postmortem Guidance
• Collection and Submission of Postmortem Specimens (CDC)
• Laboratory Testing
  • COVID-19 Testing Notice: DSHS Austin Laboratory
  • Interim Guidelines for Collecting, Handling, and Testing Clinical Specimens from Persons for COVID‑19 (CDC)
  • Fact Sheet for Patients (CDC)
  • Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers (CDC)
  • As of April 13, the following private and hospital labs are offering, or will shortly begin offering, COVID‑19 testing:
  • Access DX Laboratory, LLC
  • Advanced Genomics
  • ARUP
  • BioReference
  • Chattahoochee Physicians Laboratory Services, LLC
  • Coleman County Medical Center
  • Convergent Diagnostics, LLC
  • Conviva
  • Coryell Health
  • CPL
  • Culberson Hospital
  • Dallas LTCH, LLC
  • DTR Labs, LLC
  • El Campo Memorial Hospital
  • Frio Regional Hospital
  • Fulgent Genetics
  • Guadalupe Regional Medical Center
  • Haskell Memorial Hospital
  • Health Texas Providers Network
  • Houston Methodist
  • iGenomeDx
  • KBMO Diagnostics LLC
  • Kindred Hospital Dallas Central
  • LabCorp
  • Livingston Med Lab, LLC
  • Longview Regional Medical Center
  • Magnolia Diagnostics
  • Medical City Dallas
  • Medical Diagnostic Laboratories
  • Memorial Health System
  • NETIMA
  • North Central Surgical Center Hospital
  • Post Acute Medical Rehabilitation Hospital of Round Rock
  • Quest
  • Rice Medical Center
  • San Angelo Community Medical Center
  • Schleicher County Medical Center
  • Sonic Reference Lab Inc.
  • Supreme Medical Laboratories
  • Texas Health
  • Texas Med Clinic Provider Group, PLLC
  • The Colony ER Hospital
  • TotalCare Emergency Room
  • Tyler County Hospital District
  • UT Southwestern Medical Center
  • UT Health Austin
  • Viracor-Eurofins
  • W.J. Mangold Memorial Hospital
  • COVID‑19 and Newborn Screening: During this time of extraordinary challenge, the DSHS Newborn Screening (NBS) Program appreciates the dedication and commitment of healthcare providers to ensure the best possible outcomes for Texas newborns. Please visit the DSHS Laboratory's COVID‑19 and Newborn Screening FAQs page for important information.

For disease reporting and/or local assistance, see the listing of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Local Health Entities.

Healthcare professionals can also find interim guidance (including patient evaluation, reporting, testing, specimen collection, and prevention and control recommendations) on the CDC website:
CDC Guidance for Health Professionals

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