Covid-19 Resources

The Center for Disease Control expects that widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States will occur (Feb2020). In the coming months, most of the U.S. population will be exposed to this virus. Widespread transmission of COVID-19 could translate into large numbers of people needing medical care at the same time. Schools, childcare centers, and workplaces, may experience more absenteeism or closings. Mass gatherings may be cancelled or postponed. Public health and healthcare systems may become overloaded.  With an onslaught of news and information on the coronavirus pandemic, it can be challenging to know where to turn for reliable, up-to-the-minute information. To help the public better assess the news about the virus the following top resources are listed below.

Websites and phone numbers to assist with various aspects of the pandemic are listed below.

Centers for Disease Control: 800-232-4636

Additional state and county hotlines available are:

State of Michigan:  888-535-6136
Oakland County: 248-858-1000
Wayne County: 734-287-7870

Information about COVID-19 is evolving daily.  The following federal and state resources about the coronavirus COVID-19 are recommended:

Get the latest public health information from CDC:  https://www.coronavirus.gov
Get the latest research information from NIH: https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus

• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services  https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/

• Oakland County Health Division   https://www.oakgov.com/health/information/covid-19/Pages/default.aspx

• Wayne County Public Health  www.waynecounty.com

Reduce Stress in Yourself and Others

Take the following steps to reduce stress:

• Take care of your body

• Connect with others

• Take breaks/deep breaths/meditate

• Stay informed

• Avoid watching too much news

 Mental health resources to help with pandemic-related fears and anxiety:

click on the underlined hyperlinks

Sharing the facts about COVID-19 and understanding the actual risk to yourself and people you care about can make an outbreak less stressful.  Accurate information about COVID-19 helps make people feel less stressed.  
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/share-facts.html

Reduce stress in yourself and others. Learn more about taking care of your emotional health. 
https://emergency.cdc.gov/coping/selfcare.asp

 It is perfectly normal to feel anxiety during a pandemic or health crisis.  Here are some helpful ways to cope with these feelings-Coronavirus Anxiety: 4 Ways to Cope with Fear
https://psychcentral.com/blog/coronavirus-anxiety-4-ways-to-cope-with-fear/

Coping with Stress During Infectious Disease Outbreaks, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
www.samhsa.gov/search

• Comics for Good has a comic series on COVID-19, along with free print-outs and coloring pages. There are translations of the comics in multiple languages as well. 

• From the National Association of School Psychologists, a parent resource for talking to children about COVID-19.

• The CDC also offers a similar guide for parents, school staff and others working with children. 

• PBS Kids offers some de-stressing activities that families can engage in together, to help manage the stress associated with widespread illness.

General

MedlinePlus www.medlineplus.gov
MedlinePlus is the preferred website for anyone with a medical question. Contains comprehensive, accurate, current medical information in English and many languages for patients and consumers from the National Institutes of Health and other trusted sources. Links to an encyclopedia, medical dictionaries/glossaries, drug database and current news.

AMA Resources for Patients www.ama-assn.org/ama
Health topics for patients from the American Medical Association.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov
The CDC provides credible information to enhance health decisions and promotes health through strong partnerships with state health departments and other organizations. 

HealthFinder www.healthfinder.gov
HealthFinder is a key resource for finding the best government and nonprofit health and human services information; links to carefully selected information and websites from over 1,500 health-related organizations. 

Alternative Medicine

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
www.nccam.nih.gov
NCCAM is the leading source of information and for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine. Provides fact sheets and information summaries about alternative and complementary treatments and therapies. 

Cancer Resources

National Cancer Institute www.cancer.gov
Links to cancer information, in English and Spanish. Includes clinical trials database; treatments, screening, prevention, and supportive care information summaries. 

American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org
Information for patients and families on diagnosis and treatment, cancer prevention, alternative treatments, links to other cancer resources. Other language publications are available. Links to resources/ACS activities in your local community. You can call (800-227-2345) a trained cancer information specialist 24/7 to answer your questions.

Michigan Cancer Consortium/Cancer and Your Family www.michigancancer.org
Cancer information for the State of Michigan. It is available in several languages.

Diabetes

American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org
Basic diabetes information with advice on nutrition, weight loss and exercise, legal resources and community programs. 

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
A-Z list of diabetes topics and titles.

Heart Disease & Stroke

American Heart Association
www.americanheart.org
Covers all aspects of heart disease and stroke treatment and recovery, risk assessment, prevention, exercise, and nutrition. 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute www.nhlbi.nih.gov
Information on heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, obesity, exercise, and cholesterol. Some publications available in Spanish. Information for African-Americans.

Drugs, Prescriptions, OTC

DailyMed dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/

DailyMed provides high quality information about marketed drugs. The drug labeling is the most recent submitted to the FDA, and have been reformatted to make them easier to read.

Drug Information Portal  druginfo.nlm.nih.gov/drugportal
This is a gateway to selected drug information from the National Library of Medicine, the FDA, and the CDC.

Nutrition Resources

American Dietetic Association  www.eatright.org
Healthy lifestyle and nutrition tips.

USDA Food Guide Website  www.choosemyplate.gov
A research-based food guidance system--it goes beyond the Basic Four Food Groups.

Other

Clinical Trials  www.clinicaltrials.gov

This website provides regularly updated information about federally funded and privately supported clinical research with human volunteers. It includes information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone number for more details.

Daily Strength  www.dailystrength.org

This online support site offers more than 500 support groups for health issues and life challenges. Users can research the latest. drugs, treatments and alternative therapies, and hear about others that are just like you.

Patients Like Me www.patientslikeme.com
This is an online community for people with life-changing conditions. Patients embrace the open sharing of personal health data because they believe that information can change the course of their disease. 

Lab Tests  labtestsonline.org
Designed to help you better understand the clinical lab tests that are part of routine care, as well as diagnosis and treatment of a broad range of conditions and diseases.

Medicaid  www.medicaid.gov
The official U.S. Government site for Medicaid information.

Medicare www.medicare.gov
The official U.S. Government site for Medicare information.