The signs and resources on these pages are
intended for public health and emergency preparedness professionals.
Members of the public are invited to visit our
general information pages for personal preparedness resources and
information.
"Alternate care facility" or "health care center"?
In the event of an emergency
or exercise,
public health agencies may establish temporary facilities to treat and/or care for
injured and ill patients. Some emergency planners refer to this type of
facility as a "alternate care facility" (ACF), however through user
testing, we learned that term was not always clear to the general public
or our partners. We recommend the term "health
care center" instead of ACF and will use that term throughout this site.
Health care centers can be
located anywhere
— in a large
gymnasium, several small classrooms, a church, a hall or even a warehouse.
Each site will have its own advantages and
obstacles. Preparing signs and designing a layout for the health center
locations in your community now can save valuable time.
This sample
layout was developed by Public Health Seattle-King County for a
health care center in a large building. Few of you will
have facilities this large, but the sample will help you think through
the areas you may need and help you allocate space accordingly.
Health center information handouts
A
template
for a handout of general
information is available to use at local health care centers. We
recommend local health jurisdictions download and customize this form in
advance. Areas on the form that need to be
completed by local planners are marked in red. The templates
are designed with two handouts per
8-1/2 x 11 sheet.
Templates in other languages will be available soon.
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In this section you can:
Planning ahead will help you
get ready to open a health care center.
This includes
assigning a signage
coordinator; estimating costs; preparing
resources in advance;
creating a sample health care center layout; and
determining other necessary supplies.
Additional resources from
the Department of Health:
-
Customizable handout;
-
Fact sheet for
health care centers;
-
Emergency
communications toolkit - messages, press
releases, patient education materials,
etc.
Questions
If you have questions about
the signage site or would like further information, please contact
signs@doh.wa.gov.
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Welcome
to the Washington State Department of Health's Health Care
Center Resource site. The materials on this site were
developed with local partners to meet the
needs of local health jurisdictions in our state.