COVID-19 Updates

The Patton State Hospital psychology training programs are committed to providing a safe training experience while serving our patient population during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have made many modifications to our training programs and to the delivery of services during the pandemic to balance safety, training needs, and patient care. Below is a list of the primary modifications to the training experience implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• All staff are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. This includes interns, postdoctoral fellows, and practicum students. Incoming trainees are required to be fully vaccinated prior to beginning the training program.
• All employees who work in patient areas receive COVID antigen testing daily.
• All employees who do not work in patient areas receive COVID PCR testing twice weekly.
• Employees who are determined to have a close exposure to someone who is COVID positive receive PCR testing and self-quarantine pending results of the PCR tests.
• All employees are temperature screened before entering the facility each day.
• Trainees do not work on units under isolation or quarantine.
• Trainees are provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) including N95 respirators, face shields, and gloves for use when providing direct treatment and assessment services. Trainees receive formal fit-testing and training for the proper use of N95 masks.
• High strength peroxide wipes are provided for sanitizing offices, testing equipment, etc.
• All employees are mandated to wear surgical masks whenever in common areas on campus (trainees are provided with N95 respirators for work in patient areas).
• Off-unit centralized groups have been replaced by smaller on-unit patient meetings (individual meetings or small socially distanced groups with 2 to 3 patients).
• Treatment services, including individual psychotherapy, are conducted with minimum 6-foot social distancing and PPE including N95 respirators.
• Some services are provided outdoors when weather and space permit.
• Applicant interviews are conducted via videoconference (WebEx) for 2022-2023 recruitment season.