Instead of taking the computer-on-wheels to the bedside to obtain an electronically signed informed consent, consent for procedures could be obtained via phone from the patient, provided the patient could provide consent, and this conversation was witnessed by another provider. Therefore, while also trying to conserve PPE, modifications were made to some usual practices. Consults were encouraged to be electronic/virtual too, if possible.ģ.6 Decontamination of certain equipment with strong disinfectant wipes can reduce the shelf life of such equipment. Bedside physician visit for uncomplicated patients was limited to one physician per visit per day when medically feasible. Providers were trained to conduct team huddles to review all data they would need, examination findings they would look for, and information they would provide to the patient at bedside before one of the team members entered the COVID-PUI room. A protocol for cleaning of I-Pads was disseminated. I-Pads were also issued to patients so that they could interact with providers and ‘virtual visitors’. Patient rooms were equipped for video surveillance and in-room phones so that providers could gather the bulk of history by speaking to the patient via phone while watching them on the video. This was achieved by in-depth education to HCWs on novel way of providing healthcare. This helps protect HCWs from unnecessary exposure and save PPEs, which are still in short supply. We present an outline of how Connecticut Veterans Affairs Healthcare System prepared for this pandemic in order to share our experience, and hopefully help inform other facilities across the country and globally.ģ.4 Reduction of time spent at bedside was a major goal for HCWs providing care to COVID-19 positive or person under investigation (COVID-PUI), while still ensuring state-of-the-art care and management. Connecticut is one of the states impacted heavily and early by COVID-19. Healthcare centers everywhere should prepare to implement measures for an efficient hospital-wide approach to manage the imminent surge in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. In the U.S.A., while currently COVID-19 seems to preferentially be affecting densely populated urban areas, this pandemic will likely impact other urban as well as rural areas soon. The peak of this pandemic is expected in the next few weeks, when a surge of hospital admissions for COVID-19 will emerge globally. The severity of disease in those with the infection has overwhelmed healthcare systems and frontline healthcare providers, and has exhausted resources, revealing how ill-equipped the world was to handle this pandemic. As rapid testing becomes more readily available in the next few weeks, it is expected that many more cases will be diagnosed, and many of them would need hospitalization for care. Globally, SARS-CoV2 has infected millions, with an overall case fatality rate of >6.5%. is close to a million, and the number of casualties have surpassed 45,000. in late January 2020, the number of SARS-CoV2-infected individuals in the U.S.A. Within three months from the first diagnosed case of COVID-19 in the U.S.A. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) originated in Wuhan, China, quickly became a global pandemic, and has impacted the U.S.A.
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