Meetings

• Please wear masks during meetings.
• Please consider going back to Zoom, or other virtual options, as much as possible.
• If it is critical to meet in person, please use your best judgment to keep staff safe. We ask that you consider the meeting space and the duration of the meeting.
• Please space out as much as possible, with a minimum of 3 feet.
• We ask that everyone in the room wear masks regardless of vaccination status.
• Please do not serve food or drink at any meetings at this time.

Masks  

• Please continue to wear masks indoors at all Cook Children's location, including professional buildings and offices. 
• We ask that all patients and their families wear masks at any Cook Children’s location.
• Please remind anyone who pushes back on these guidelines that we are caring for medically fragile children and we need to provide them with the safest place possible. Along with the COVID-19 vaccines, masks remain the most important way to protect ourselves against this virus.

Visitors

Inpatient

• We allow two  immediate family members at a time in the patient’s room between 8 a.m. - 8  p.m.. (visiting hours).  
• You must request visitor exceptions for more than two immediate family members.
• Siblings are allowed as long as everyone over the age of 2 wears a mask. 
• Immediate family members can trade out/take turns on a daily basis.  Banded primary caregivers can stay 24 hours/day.
• Immediate family members can switch out on the floors.
• Others can wait in areas such as the cafeteria/amenity areas on first floor only.
• We will no longer have visitors wear stickers.

Note:  This does not apply to the emergency room or end-of-life situations when more than two individuals may be needed, as well as exceptions made for clergy.. These situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Outpatients (including CCPN offices, Urgent Care Centers, Neighborhood Clinics, Dodson Specialty, etc.)

Please recommend to families that they only bring two people to a visit. However, we understand with the rising outdoor temperatures, we do not want to keep people in the car and it may be necessary to bring more than family members in for a patient visit. Please work with families to make sure they wear their masks and work to keep families 6 feet apart from one another as much as possible.

Waiting areas and room visits

• We ask that you remove any toys or play structures in waiting areas,  in an effort to prevent the spread of germs.
• If possible, please space out a total of 3 seats for families and a distance of 6 feet apart.
• Please get patients and their families in a room as soon as possible. Check them in and out in that room if you are able to do so.

Business Travel

Domestic

At this time, we are not placing any restrictions on business travel. We do encourage you to wear your mask while traveling, preferably an N-95 mask as the safest option.

International

We are not allowing any international travel for business.

As we continue to monitor community COVID-19 numbers, we will make any necessary changes to keep our patients, their families and each other as safe as possible.

Personal Travel

• You are no longer required to show any proof of a negative COVID-19 test after any personal travel (including air travel or a cruise). 
• It is not necessary to get tested 3 to 5 days after your return from any travel. 
• While it is not a requirement, the CDC does recommend test for anyone who is returning to the U.S. from a trip. 
• If you begin to feel ill or show symptoms of COVID-19 after  travel, please call the COVID-19 Center at 682-303-1661 or send  an email to COVID19OHS@cookchildrens.org. 

Thank you for your cooperation.

With COVID-19 numbers down dramatically at many locations, it’s time to revisit our travel guidelines.

Domestic Travel:

Regardless of your vaccination status, you are no longer required to provide a negative COVID-19 test on your return from work. You may return to work immediately.

If you are not vaccinated, continue to wear your mask.

If you begin to show symptoms, please get tested immediately.

Masks:

After a recent federal court decision in Florida, masks are not required during travel for most public transportation.

However, the CDC and your Cook Children’s Infectious Diseases specialists still recommend wearing masks while in an enclosed space crowded with people, such as in a bus, subway or train. Traveling on planes remains more of a question with claims of good ventilation. But until more data is provided, our ID teams say it’s best to continue to wear a mask on a plane over your nose and mouth. 

What about Business Travel?

• While we continue to discourage business travel, we understand some travel is deemed necessary or essential to the operations of Cook Children's Health Care System. In these situations, business travel should be approved in advance by a company president, or VP or above.
• Currently, no international travel for business will be approved by Cook Children's.

Cruise Ship and River Cruise Voyages

Regardless of your COVID-19 vaccine status, you may return to work after your trip.

Get a COVID-19 viral test 3-5 days after your cruise, regardless of your COVID-19 vaccination status.

To learn more about what you need to know before traveling on a cruise, click here.

International Travel:

Regardless of your vaccination status, you can return to work immediately, but please ensure the following criteria:

• Proof of obtaining a COVID test during days 3-5 after returning to the U.S. is sent to Occupational Health at IntlTravelProof@cookchildrens.org.  
• Home tests are accepted as long as you provide a picture that includes two things: your Cook Children’s badge and test kit result. Send both to Occhealth@cookchildrens.org.
• If you receive a test from a company that witnessed the test, please forward the original email sent to you from that organization which includes your results and your employee number/name.
• Occupational Health will alert the manager of receipt of this information.
• If the employee does not submit proof of testing for COVID-19 on days 3-5, the employee will be taken off of the schedule by their department.
• You cannot return back to work until proof of testing is received during that time period or after 5 days of quarantine (if no test is obtained during the time frame of days 3-5). 
• The International Travel Team/Occupational Health will notify department leadership and HR if no proof is received.
• If you are positive, contact the Infection Prevention COVID hotline immediately. COVID19OHS@cookchildrens.org or 682-303-1661

Recommended For ALL Travelers:

• Get tested with a COVID-19 viral test 3-5 days after travel.
• Find a U.S. COVID-19 testing location near you.
• Self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms; isolate and get tested if you develop symptoms.
• Follow all state, tribal, local, and territorial recommendations or requirements after travel.

Recently, we’ve been able to relax our COVID-19 guidelines because of the decline in COVID-19 cases in our area and within our system. However, we must continue to take certain safety precautions for our patients, their families and each other.

Employee Information:

As a reminder:

• We require that outside guest speakers must be vaccinated in order to come on campus. The maximum for these events is 25 attendees.
• The only non-Cook Children’s employees allowed onsite must be here for a meeting or for training purposes.
• We are not allowing any employee family members or friends onsite to visit at this time. We must still limit the number of people on campus as much as possible.

Eyewear: 

For all patient encounters, you must wear at least a surgical mask and eye protection.

Goggles and N-95 Masks

Fully vaccinated employees:

• Are no longer required to wear goggles and N-95 masks for aerosol generating procedures (AGP) on inpatients who have tested negative for COVID-19. However, you must continue to wear surgical masks and eye protection. This applies to inpatients who are all routinely tested on admission.
• Are no longer required to wear goggles and N95 masks for aerosol generating procedures (AGP) in outpatients who have not been tested, but they have answered “no” to the screening questions for COVID symptoms and exposures.
• Are no longer required to wear goggles and N-95 masks for giving nebulized treatments in the outpatient setting. However, you must continue to wear surgical masks and eye protection for this procedure.  This procedure is not believed to produce much aerosol and is lower risk.

Employees who have received an exemption or are not yet fully vaccinated:

• You must continue to wear goggles and N-95 masks during all these procedures.

Screening:

At this time, please continue with all current screening questions/protocols for patients and their families entering Cook Children’s.

Drive-thru testing

The drive-thru for patient testing located on main campus are now closed.

Primary care practices and Neighborhood clinics continue to offer COVID testing to their patient populations during an office visit as needed. The Urgent Care locations are no longer offering COVID test only services but do continue to have testing available for any patient seen during their visit to a UCC if necessary. 

Patient and Family Visitation Information:

• At Cook Children’s Medical Center, two designated caregivers may be with each child while they are a patient in the medical center.
• This does not apply to the emergency room or end-of-life situations when more than two individuals may be needed. These situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
• All surgery and procedural areas at the medical center and Dodson ASC, including the main OR, surgery waiting areas, etc. will follow the two designated caregivers policy in place for the medical center.

At other locations, including Primary Care and Specialty Care offices, such as Dodson and the Infusion Center; Urgent Care Centers; Neighborhood Clinics; Outpatient Surgery Centers in Hurst and Prosper; Rehab; Home Health office, our guidelines are:

• Any two people from the child’s household may come with the patient to any appointments or visits. For example: mom and sister; dad and daughter; mom and grandmother.
• Those visiting our locations will be screened upon entering (temperature checked/symptoms of illness).

Thank you all for your cooperation to keep everyone safe.