Providing Quality Care to the Intellectually Disadvantaged Patient Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted global health care delivery within a short period of time and has spotlighted the needs of vulnerable patient populations. The recommended initiatives to prevent the viral spread have included strategies such as social distancing, hand hygiene, and wearing protective personal equipment. These activities are community-wide focused, however, may be difficult to achieve for those individuals with intellectual disabilities, thus making this population susceptible to viral spread of infection. This article discusses the experience at a large urban teaching hospital in regard to the care of intellectually disadvantaged patients with COVID-19 infection.