Clinic Safety Protocols
International Medical Relief will continue to embody the philosophy that guides our service excellence while maintaining the highest hygiene standards, adhering to local government guidelines, and safeguarding the health and wellbeing of all volunteers and patients.
We encourage you to continue to maintain good personal hygiene and keep a safe distance from others. We urge everyone to continue to participate in the fight against respiratory illness by complying with pre-trip safety guidelines we have laid out.
FOR VOLUNTEERS & PATIENTS
IMR’S COMMITMENT TO THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF OUR VOLUNTEERS AND PATIENTS
- Volunteers will wear two pairs of gloves. In between patients, the overlayer glove will be doffed and the underlayer glove will remain on and hand sanitized, and a new overlayer glove will be added. One pair of gloves per patient will be issued
- Volunteers will be provided one face shield per trip
- Volunteers will be provided one IMR reusable mask with two N95 filters
- Volunteers working in high-risk areas will be given two gowns per day
IMR volunteers wishing to have increased PPE are welcome to bring it and keep it in the donning/doffing area. IMR volunteers are encouraged to bring hand sanitizer for personal use as well as sanitary wipes for personal devices and equipment. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own personal battery-operated air purifier/ionizer or fans for personal comfort.
In Clinic
Clinic Set-Up
- All IMR volunteers and IMR ground staff will receive a thorough health screening daily before each clinic starts.
- IMR will designate a safe area to don and doff PPE.
- Clinic setup will be mindful to include as many outdoor areas as possible at each clinic location with shaded areas for patients in order to help with airflow and avoid cross-contamination.
- Clinic setup will include a 20-foot boundary, and the patient entrance will be outside of this area. Only patients and guardians will be allowed within the boundary.
- Clinic setup will include patient routing to minimize cross-traffic patterns with clear entry and exit points.
- Waiting area(s) and patient pathways will be set up with proper social distance markings/indicators for community to ensure staggering. Areas will also designate proper traffic paths for patients.
- Handwashing stations will be set up at entrance and exit of clinic.
Clinic Practices
- Upon arrival, patients will undergo a health screening.
- Patients will be required to wash hands at the entrance and exit of clinic area.
- SCHEDULED APPOINTMENTS: Patients will come to clinic at designated times to avoid crowds. Staggering of these times will be at the discretion of IMR ground partners. Proper distancing between patients and patient flows will be encourage by IMR team.
- REGISTRATION AREA: The Patient Registration area will include mandatory hand washing for all patients, mandatory face covering designation, and CLEAN PEN and USED PEN areas for patient registration.
- All parties within the clinic area are required to wear a face covering or mask at all times.
- RESTRICTED ACCESS: Clinic will have private areas for providers and a flow that eliminates patient cross-traffic patterns. Only patients (or patients under the age of 14 with a guardian) will be allowed inside at their scheduled time.
- Each provider table or group must be limited to five or fewer total people and there will be no mixing between groups.
- SAFE DISTANCING: The IMR Clinic Director will reconfigure all clinic spaces to ensure safe facility distancing throughout the site. All individuals and groups must maintain safe distancing of at least six feet at all times.
- CONTACT-LIGHT SERVICES: Volunteers are encouraged to provide as much care to patients in a contact-light manner without compromising their ability to care for our communities. We ask volunteers to take responsibility for their own welfare as it relates to patient care.
Clinic Breakdown
- At the end of the clinic day, extra precautions will be taken to clean and sterilize all equipment and supplies prior to packing up the clinic.
- The clinic area will be sterilized according to CDC guidelines and trash will be sealed and disposed of in the same accordance.
- IMR will be providing a UV Scanner for use on all equipment at the end of every day.
Evening Debriefs
- IMR will have an area for clinic debrief large enough for distancing between each volunteer.
- Volunteers will not be required to participate in the included team meals and are welcome to eat on their own at their own expense.
- IMR will make every effort to provide disposable meal utensils and meals to go when available to allow volunteers to eat independently if desired.
Respiratory Illness Community Education & Professional Training Classes
All clinics will have respiratory illness educational classes for community participants as well as professional training for medical staff. The presentation materials are managed by the IMR Clinic Director to ensure the most up-to-date details. The materials are certified by the IMR Board and will be the same at every location
