Coronavirus Advisory

We sincerely hope that you, your family and friends are staying safe during these unprecedented and stressful times.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a rapidly evolving public health concern and it is impacting how we live, work, and stay healthy. We are closely monitoring the developments and taking actions (based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and other federal, state and local agencies; along with daily input from our clinical and operational teams) to protect the health and wellness of the community we serve.

In these critical times, we assure you that we are available to care for our patients and are taking all reasonable and possible steps and precautions to keep you and our staff safe.

As a result of COVID-19, you may notice changes in our offices, policies, and procedures. These measures are a part of our commitment to do everything we can to ensure the critical care which our patients need is not interrupted.

These policies will begin March 10th, 2020 and will last until further notice.

---

Symptomatic Patients

If you are experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, trouble breathing, or other flu-like symptoms (body aches, headaches, fatigue, sore throat, etc.) please call your primary care physician to discuss evaluation and management. If you have a life-threatening emergency, please call 911.

COVID-19 Positive Patients

If you have tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) and have an upcoming appointment at our office, we ask that you immediately alert us to ensure the safety of individuals caring for you and other patients at our office.

We also ask that if you test positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19), and you have seen us for an appointment in the last two weeks, please let us know immediately so that we can properly alert the staff and patients who may have been exposed.

New Patients

We will continue to see new patients and provide care to our existing patients in these times of crisis. If your new patient visit is for a non-urgent issue, we may ask that you reschedule your appointment to a later time. The determination of whether to reschedule your appointment will be made by our physicians.

Pre-Visit Appointment Confirmation

Before your visit, you may receive an automated or in-person phone call (or both) from our office to confirm your appointment. If you do not receive this call, or need to reschedule your appointment, please call our office at the phone numbers below to confirm or reschedule.

During this call, you will be asked screening questions based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) –

If you, someone in your household, or someone you had close contact with:

• has a fever, cough, shortness of breath, or flu-like symptoms
• has traveled outside the United States or on a cruise ship or
• has been in close contact with someone who was diagnosed with COVID-19,

please call our office to discuss the next steps before you come to the clinic for your appointment.

Based on your responses, you will be guided on the next steps regarding your visit. Please make sure to provide detailed information to our staff to ensure that your visit can be conducted safely.

Based on your responses, you may be asked to:

1. Proceed with your visit as originally planned
2. Cancel or reschedule your appointment
3. Practice social distancing or self-isolation while monitoring your health status/symptoms
4. Come in for a visit with extended precautions (which will be communicated to you)

Office Phone Numbers

Arlington Heights: (847) 259-4482
Chicago Resurrection: (773) 774-0042
Crystal Lake: (815) 363-0066
Elgin: (847) 931-0909
Hoffman Estates: (847) 885-0909
Huntley: (847) 802-7880
Niles: (847) 827-9060

---

Changes to Upcoming Appointments

To ensure everyone’s safety, we may ask you to reschedule your appointments, or alter your treatment schedule. The determination to reschedule your appointments or change the treatment schedule will be made by your physician. Routine follow-up visits or non-urgent specialty visits may be deferred until conditions improve. We are working on options to provide care through video visits or conduct visits via telephone or other communication technologies.

For appointments that cannot be delayed or conducted via video/telephone, we are taking steps to keep you safe while you receive care at our sites.

Pre-Encounter In-Person Screening

Our staff are screening all patients for symptoms and risk factors of COVID-19 at the clinic sites, based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

At each visit, you will be asked a few screening questions. Based on your responses to the questions, you may be asked to:

1. Proceed with your visit as originally planned
2. Cancel or reschedule your appointment
3. Wear a mask and other personal protective equipment before or upon arrival at the office
4. Isolate in a designated exam room in our office for your visit
5. Practice social distancing and limit contact with staff and other patients in the office
6. Self-isolate and self-monitor your symptoms/health status

General Precautions

We will be following the below practices to stop the virus from spreading:

1. All patients and accompanying caregivers will be asked to sanitize their hands upon arrival at the office prior to meeting with your physician.
2. All sneezes or coughs should be covered using your elbow or a tissue (which is promptly discarded in the trash).
3. We will routinely disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces and wash our hands prior to and after each patient encounter.

Visitors

Starting immediately, Illinois Cancer Specialists will be limiting visitors who accompany patients to one person per patient. We will also ask the same screening questions to the accompanying visitor and we reserve the right to refuse entry if the visitor is exhibiting symptoms or has a risk of exposure to COVID-19. Visitation will not be allowed for suspected or confirmed patients with COVID-19 or those with active respiratory illness. Visitors under the age of 18 are strongly discouraged from entering our facilities. No children under the age of 12 are allowed to accompany patients into the patient care areas.

Testing for COVID-19

We are currently unable to provide testing for COVID-19 at our office sites. If we determine that you need to be tested, you will be provided guidance on reaching the appropriate testing center or physicians for a complete evaluation.

Sources of Information

As this is a rapidly evolving situation, we urge you to turn to reliable sources of information such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) or the World Health Organization (WHO).

1. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 
2. World Health Organization (WHO) 
3. World Health Organization (WHO) Situation Report 
4. Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) 

To keep abreast of the revisions to our office practices and policies, please visit our website at www.illinoiscancerspecialists.com, or please call our office to speak with your care team directly.

Your health is our priority. We are committed to taking all measures necessary to ensure the health and safety of you and your caregivers, our physicians and staff, and our communities.