COVID-19

• Fever of 100.4°F or higher
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Sore throat
• New loss of taste or smell          

• If you have been in contact with a person who is in quarantine or tested positive for COVID-19
• If you have recently returned from a hotspot area such as the New York City region, China, Europe, Iran, Japan or South Korea

1. Call your primary care provider, stay home and limit contact with family members until advised otherwise. Together with the Erie County Department of Health, you’ll be advised on recommended next steps.
2. Call ahead before going in person to any healthcare facility.
3. Don’t go to your local emergency department for COVID-19 testing. The emergency department is only for those who need the most critical care.*

* If you have chest pain, severe shortness of breath or other potentially life-threatening problems, call your closest emergency room to notify them of your pending arrival or call 911.

Stay home

• Stay home as much as possible, limiting your exposure to others.
• Leave home only for necessities, such as groceries, the pharmacy, medical care or essential work.
• When you do leave, maintain six feet between you and anyone else.

Practice good hand hygiene

• Wash your hands often: wet, lather, scrub for 20 seconds, rinse and dry.
• If soap and water are not around, or your hands are not visibly dirty, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (60% alcohol or more).

Practice good respiratory hygiene

• When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue.
• Use the nearest waste receptacle to dispose of the tissue after use.
• Perform hand hygiene after having contact with respiratory secretions and contaminated objects/materials.

Avoid touching your face – especially eyes, mouth and nose

Sanitize high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs, counters, appliance handles and cellphones. The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a list of cleaning products shown to kill the virus causing COVID-19.

Keep your immune system strong by maintaining healthy habits, such as getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, drinking plenty of liquid and staying active

Maintain six feet of separation between you and anyone coughing or sneezing

Stay home when you’re sick, but call ahead before seeking medical care

Follow travel guidelines provided by the CDC, NYS Department of Health and Erie County Department of Health

If you develop these symptoms or have the above history, call the office where your appointment is scheduled. The patient service representative will review this information with you and discuss your options, and, if needed, the provider may recommend that you call your primary care provider.

You can also call the office and ask if your appointment can be conducted through UBMD CareConnect - UBMD's new telemedicine service.

If you do not have these symptoms, when coming to the office, please bring only one family member or friend with you to the appointment. 

All UBMD practices are still seeing patients. 

If you need care, please call the office you're seeking care from. Our patient service representatives will work with you and your provider to determine what type of appointment is right for you. UBMD is now offering UBMD CareConnect, UBMD's new telemedicine services. Appointments can be conducted through video or phone calls. For certain cases, an in-person visit may be required.

If an in-person visit is determined, see how UBMD is taking steps to safeguard in-person care.

Additionally, UB OrthoCare is still seeing patients for urgent care of broken bones, strains, sprains, concussions and other emergent orthopaedic needs. During this time of uncertainty and potential fear of going to the emergency room for care, we are highly recommending that you visit UB OrthoCare if you have an orthopaedic concern that needs to be taken care of urgently. As with our other locations, our team is screening patients before their appointment and at check-in, and we have always had rigorous cleaning protocols, which we have further increased to ensure our offices are sanitized.

Yes, UBMD now offers telemedicine care through UBMD CareConnect.

UBMD CareConnect provides access to the vital care you need without having to come to the office. For each visit, your provider will determine if the appointment can be done by video call, phone call or if an in-person visit is required. 

Visit our UBMD CareConnect page for more information.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our offices are reviewing upcoming, pre-existing appointments to determine if they are eligibile to be offered through UBMD CareConnect. If so, the office will reach out to you prior to the appointment. You can also call your provider's office and ask in advance if your appointment can be changed to UBMD CareConnect.

In an effort to support reducing population densitty and social distancing, UBMD practices have instituted new measures to support these efforts.

It's best to check to with the office your appointment will be at, but generally, we're requesting that all patients come alone, or with the fewest people possible.

For UBMD Pediatrics locations, pediatric patients will be limited to one parent or guardian.

For all offices located at Conventus, pediatric patients will be limited to one parent or guardian, and adult patients who do not need to be accompanied are restricted from bringing any one with them. Patients needing assistance may have one person accompany them to their appointment.

As your healthcare provider, we take serious care maintaining the safety of our patients, team and offices. Below are some ways we’re working to safeguard health and safety:

1. Screening patients before appointments, before entering the facility and at check-in
2. Reducing population density at offices by limiting pediatric patients to one parent/guardian and recommending adults come alone, unless needing assistance**
3. Increased cleaning frequency of high-touch surfaces
4. Hand sanitizer and tissues available in all main areas
5. Continually updating our employees on new protocols and procedures
6. All practices have an employee screening process, with some sites screening all employees before entering the facility
7. Encouraging social distancing of at least 6’ feet between all patients and team members

** When coming to the office, we ask all patients to please come alone, or with the fewest people possible. At Conventus specifically, pediatric patients will be limited to one parent or guardian; adult patients who do not need to be accompanied, are restricted from bringing anybody with them. Patients needing assistance may have one person accompany them to their appointment.

All of these measures and more are meant to reduce the risk of exposure to our patients and team.