Community hospital experience in the emergency management of COVID-19: Preventing morbidity and preserving resources

An incredible amount of information has been published regarding inpatient management of patients with COVID-19. Although this is vitally important, critical interventions that occur in the emergency department (ED) can have a profound impact on the individual patient and the healthcare system as a whole.  Much has been written regarding care in large centers, but there has been little discussion regarding similar patients in community settings. Prior to the pandemic, large centers were able to accept patients that outstripped the resources in community hospital settings, but currently we foresee that many community centers will begin to manage more complex cases without referral. As physicians in a medium-sized community academic center, we aim to enumerate community-hospital-relevant guidance for ED care that focuses on adherence to available evidence-based medicine, including early aggressive supplemental oxygenation, awake proning, and methods to improve oxygenation and ultimately delay intubation as long as safely possible.  Equally importantly, it was recognized early that adjustments to medication regimens (eg, sedation) and personal protective equipment (PPE) use must be made in the ED to conserve those same resources for long-term use in inpatient units and improve the functionality of the hospital system as a whole. It is our hope that this article may serve as a framework for similar community-based hospitals to create their own protocols to optimize resource utilization, staff safety, and patient care.