CDC issues guidance on transferring patients during pandemic

To extend conventional standards of care to as many people as possible during a crisis, communities need a coordinated regional approach that makes use of relief health care facilities (RHFs). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance this week for transferring patients to RHFs. If closed, such facilities must have the legal documentation and infrastructure required to re-open. All RHFs need an adequate number of trained health care professionals, sufficient space to accommodate additional patients, appropriate PPE and other equipment and supplies to care for the transferred patients. The CDC guidance also includes a toolkit for coordinating efforts to identify, establish and prepare RHFs. (CDC update, 7/12/20)