COVID-19 Infection Prevention in Health Care Settings

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) developed this webpage to provide resources for health care facilities, including acute care hospitals, long-term, residential care facilities, and other settings where health care is being administered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the vulnerable nature of patients, the risk of exposure to health care workers, and the congregate nature of long-term care facilities, guidance for health care settings is often different from that of the general public.

CDC’s COVID-19 Hospital Admission Level recommendations do not apply in health care settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes. Instead, health care settings should continue to follow CDC COVID-19 Infection Control Recommendations.

COVID-19 Information: Novel Coronavirus Outbreak, Department of Health Coronavirus Disease, CDC

Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance information: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI)

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Requests

The state PPE supply continues to be available to support organizations in extraordinary circumstances such as when supplies are unavailable through regular supply chains, when shipping delays cause an insufficient level of PPE, and when urgent needs arise that cannot be addressed through other means. If an urgent needs exists, contact your local county emergency manager to determine how requests should be placed. They are able to answer questions about the request process.

Infection Prevention Materials for COVID-19

DOH is fully aligning with CDC COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for health care settings, including long-term care facilities. DOH’s Interim Recommendations for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Prevention and Control in Healthcare Settings was retired April 3, 2023.

DOH created a SARS-CoV-2 Infection Prevention and Control in Health Care Settings Toolkit (PDF) with resources for health care and long-term care settings. This toolkit includes additional links and tools to assist with updating facility policies and procedures. DOH encourages facilities to follow CDC’s Infection Control guidelines and recommendations. The DOH toolkit provides supplementary resources to facilities following CDC recommendations.

If you have any questions, please contact us at HAI-COVID@doh.wa.gov.

All Health Care Settings

Behavioral Health