Tuesday, May 5, 2020: Community Update From Tahoe Forest Health System President and CEO Harry Weis

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

A message to our patients

Here at Tahoe Forest Health System (TFHS), we’d like you to know that the safety of you and your family as well as our valued healthcare team is the single most important aspect of our planning during this new phase of COVID-19.

Right now, we’re busy preparing a carefully phased re-opening of our hospitals, clinics and outpatient services in Truckee, Incline Village and Tahoe City.  We’ve even started the process of contacting and rescheduling patients in most areas of service.

For all other questions related to COVID-19, please contact your county health department:

  • Nevada County Public Health: (833) 342-5211
  • Placer County Public Health: (530) 886-5310
  • Washoe County Public Health: (775) 328-2427
  • El Dorado County Public Health: Dial 211 on your phone

Telemedicine visits may continue to be used in some settings; please ask your provider if you qualify for this appointment type.

While we’re hopeful that all of our hospital services will be fully functional soon, we want to assure the community that our Emergency Departments in Truckee and Incline Village as well as our Urgent Care Clinics in Truckee and Tahoe City are SAFE and OPEN. (See below for location details.) 

We’ve also started to re-schedule surgical patients, including orthopedics for the coming weeks, and those with previous diagnostic imaging (mammography, MRI, CT, ultrasound and nuclear medicine) appointments. Again, if you have a specific question or concern about an upcoming appointment or would like to get in sooner, we’d be happy to talk with you about it.  Please call our central scheduling phone line at (530) 582-6205. 

Above all, our top priority is patient and staff safety. We’ve established four goals for resuming services, and they’re based on common sense in this time of uncertainty until there is a COVID-19 cure or vaccine:

  • For everyone’s safety, all patients will be screened on arrival and be required to wear masks during their entire appointment, as well as practice social distancing in our hospitals and clinics
  • We will evaluate our supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) every day as we expand the availability of our services to ensure there is no shortage
  • We’ll closely monitor local, regional and statewide COVID-19 activity, including positive tests in the region in order to quickly respond in the event of a surge 
  • Each week, our teams will review our progress in every area and make adjustments as needed 

In addition, we’ll continue daily screenings of all TFHS employees and physicians for COVID-19 symptoms as they arrive for work. They will also be required to wear masks and practice regular hand-washing.

We recognize that these important safety measures may cause some inconvenience, and we appreciate your support as we gradually expand operations to meet the healthcare needs of our community.

Please be sure to check our Facebook page and website (tfhd.com) for continued updates.

With warm regards, 

Harry Weis
President and CEO
Tahoe Forest Health System

Emergency Department Locations

Truckee
Tahoe Forest Hospital
10121 Pine Avenue, Truckee, CA 96161
(530) 503-0562

Incline Village
Incline Village Community Hospital
880 Alder Avenue, Incline Village, NV 89451
(775) 833-4100

Urgent Care Locations

Truckee
10956 Donner Pass Road, Suite 110, Truckee, CA 96161
(530) 581-8864

Tahoe City
925 North Lake Blvd, Lower Level, Tahoe City, CA 96145
(530) 581-8864