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Presenting for Duty: Lessons From A Specialty Surgery Division at the Pandemic Epicenter
Roshni Rao1, Luona Sun1, Charise Acevedo1
1From the Division of Surgery for Breast, Melanoma, and Soft Tissue Tumors, Department of Surgery, Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare, requiring surgical services to rapidly restructure. Key strategies included optimizing telehealth and multidisciplinary tumor boards to maintain patient care and academic missions.
Area of Science:
- Medicine
- Public Health
- Surgical Oncology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted healthcare systems globally, particularly in New York City.
- Surgical specialty services faced unprecedented challenges, including postponed elective surgeries and clinic cancellations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the restructuring of surgical services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To outline strategies for maintaining academic and clinical missions amidst healthcare disruptions.
Main Methods:
- Restructuring tumor boards with a multidisciplinary approach.
- Optimizing telehealth services for patient care.
- Implementing inclusive communication strategies.
- Adopting a service-oriented approach to staff redeployment.
Main Results:
- Sustained delivery of care within the Division of Breast, Melanoma, and Soft Tissue surgery.
- Facilitated continued academic and clinical operations.
- Demonstrated adaptability in healthcare service delivery.
Conclusions:
- Nimble restructuring and adaptive strategies were crucial for surgical services during the pandemic.
- Multidisciplinary collaboration, telehealth, and clear communication were vital for sustaining patient care and operations.
Mini-Abstract:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had catastrophic repercussions across the world and here in the United States. The healthcare system in New York City, the epicenter, has faced significant disruptions due to the sheer volume of cases and critical care needs of severely ill patients. For surgical specialty services, the postponement of all elective surgeries, redeployment of faculty and staff, and cancellation of outpatient clinics became a rapid reality. These circumstances required a nimble restructuring of services and communications to facilitate continued support of academic and clinical missions. Throughout the course of the pandemic, significant adjustments were made in regards to duties, patient services, and communication. The frameworks and techniques utilized are described along with the relevant outcomes. Immediate restructuring of tumor boards, a focused multidisciplinary approach to management that incorporated the barriers presented by the pandemic, optimization of telehealth services, inclusive communication, and a service-oriented approach to redeployment were critical to sustaining the Division of Breast, Melanoma, and Soft Tissue surgery.
