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New York Transplant Teams Versus COVID-19
Daryle Blackstock1, Laura Butler2, Samantha Delair3,4
12034New York Presbyterian, Columbia and Cornell Campuses, NY, USA.
Insights
New York faced overwhelming coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patient surges, straining hospital resources. Creative strategies were developed by healthcare consortia to manage critical care and adapt clinical workflows during this unprecedented pandemic.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- New York City experienced an unprecedented surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, overwhelming emergency departments and hospital capacity.
- Hospitals rapidly expanded intensive care units and repurposed non-clinical spaces for patient care to accommodate the influx of critically ill patients.
- Clinicians faced extreme conditions, with descriptions of 'war-like situations' due to the high volume of patients requiring emergent interventions, including mechanical ventilation.
Discussion:
- Healthcare consortia and organ procurement organizations collaborated intensively, holding frequent online meetings to devise and share innovative clinical and operational strategies.
- The focus was on adapting to a crisis of unparalleled scale, addressing the immediate needs of a severely impacted patient population.
- Sharing these experiences is crucial for understanding pandemic response and improving preparedness for future public health emergencies.
Key Insights:
- Rapid, flexible expansion of critical care capacity is essential during severe pandemics.
- Inter-organizational collaboration and rapid knowledge sharing are vital for effective crisis management.
- Adaptation of clinical workflows and innovative patient care strategies are necessary to cope with overwhelming patient volumes.
Outlook:
- The strategies developed in New York offer valuable lessons for other healthcare systems facing similar public health crises.
- Continued research into pandemic preparedness and response, focusing on resource allocation and clinical management, is imperative.
- Documenting and disseminating such experiences can inform future public health policies and healthcare system resilience.
Abstract:
New York State, and especially New York City, were hit hard by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus. While we followed its course in other parts of the world, and began preparations, there was no way we could have been prepared for the volume and severity of illness that began to overflow in our emergency departments and hospital units. We expanded intensive care units into our medical surgical units while turning conference rooms into medical surgical patient care areas. Clinicians at the bedside described war-like situations with numerous patients arresting and requiring ventilator support. Our New York consortia and organ procurement organizations met online 3 times a week and shared creative strategies to address clinical care and work processes. We would like to share strategies from what we hope was a once in a lifetime experience.
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