Health Crisis Management in Acute Care Hospitals: Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Beyond PDF
Preview Health Crisis Management in Acute Care Hospitals: Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Beyond
Health Crisis Management in Acute Care Hospitals Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Beyond Ridwan Shabsigh Editor 123 Health Crisis Management in Acute Care Hospitals Ridwan Shabsigh Editor Health Crisis Management in Acute Care Hospitals Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Beyond Editor Ridwan Shabsigh Department of Surgery SBH Health System Bronx, NY, USA Department of Urology Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University New York, NY, USA CUNY School of Medicine New York, NY, USA ISBN 978-3-030-95805-3 ISBN 978-3-030-95806-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95806-0 © SBH Health System 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland This book is wholeheartedly dedicated, as a humble gesture of love, respect, and appreciation, to all healthcare workers around the entire world, who worked tirelessly to help patients and save lives during the overwhelming COVID-19 pandemic. Tribute The editor and the authors of this book pay sincere tribute to all healthcare workers who lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to their families and loved ones. Special tribute is given to the five heroes of the SBH Health System family, who lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic: Warren Bates, technician, telecommunications Corazon Espinosa, RN, registered nurse, psychiatry Maria Grace E. Laureta, RN, registered nurse, ICU Nelson Then, EKG technician, radiology Ronald Verrier, MD, critical care surgeon and director of general surgery residency program We commend and honor their dedication to healthcare and their commitment to improving the lives of so many. Our thoughts and best wishes go to their families and loved ones. Foreword It would not be over-optimistic to state that, out of the suffering of millions of peo- ple, the sadness over the loss of so many lives, the economic harm, and the sociopo- litical disruption, all brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, we emerged more resilient and better capable of handling future health crises than ever in the history of humankind. This optimism is fully justified by the richness of the lessons learned from the crisis, the immense improvements made to healthcare systems all over the world, and the great advancements in medical science, such as the ability to rapidly develop and distribute new testing technology, novel vaccines, and therapeutics. It is well established that acute-care hospitals stand at the frontline of healthcare deliv- ery in peacetime; however, during times of disaster, the proper functioning of an acute-care hospital is a major indispensable part of a successful response to a health crisis. Currently, hospitals need to plan and prepare for a number of scenarios including future surges of COVID-19, new variants of it, other future infectious/ viral pandemics, or any other public health crises. Such planning and preparation could benefit tremendously from the rich lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 2 years. This book brings together the rich experiences of the SBH Health System, pre- sented in 20 chapters. The various chapters include frontline healthcare workers’ accounts and case studies, in addition to charts, figures, tables, boxes, and vignettes. The need for such practical guidance and the timeliness of this book cannot be over- stated. It is our hope that this book will energize worldwide dialogue and advance the establishment of best practices for the improvement of any hospital system’s ability to enhance their preparedness and management of any and all future health crises. SBH Health System David Perlstein Bronx, NY, USA vii Prologue The COVID-19 crisis came as an unpleasant surprise and a shock to many health- care systems and hospitals especially in the crisis epicenter of New York City. The Bronx was one of the hardest-hit boroughs of New York City with significant nega- tive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its indigent population. SBH Health System (formerly known as St. Barnabas Hospital) is an integrated system of an acute-care hospital, ambulatory care center, trauma center, dialysis center, stroke center, and other services and facilities serving the community of the Bronx. The story of SBH in preparing for and managing the rapidly escalating surge of severely ill patients at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis is a treasure of lessons in health crisis preparedness and management at all levels, clinical, administrative, and financial. This book draws lessons from the success of SBH Health System in tackling the dramatically fast unfolding pandemic from the perspective of the system as a whole and from each of the specific departments which all played a significant role in managing the local crisis of the largest threat to human health the world has seen in recent years. Such lessons may benefit us and other health systems and hospitals elsewhere in planning and preparing for similar crises in the future. Within a short 3-week period, the SBH Health System increased its in-patient capacity by 50%. However, during the same short time span, it increased its critical care capacity by more than 500%, providing critical care to severely ill patients on ventilators. This book chronicles step by step the drastic adaptations that were made and describes how this incredible accomplishment was undertaken in such a short time, to ultimately save the lives of many patients. Accounts from the frontline healthcare workers and clinical and administrative leaders alike describe important aspects of crisis management, such as team building, multi-departmental coordina- tion, effective communications, dynamic decision-making in response to rapidly changing situations, keeping up the morale, caring for the healthcare workers them- selves, and managing the supply chain and essential resources. Case studies are presented from positive and negative experiences to draw les- sons on what worked and what didn’t and how challenges were addressed. This is a prescriptive book in a “how it works” and “how to do it” style. The fact that the book is authored by those who worked directly in the field, witnessing firsthand the ix x Prologue distressing reality of the clinical devastation caused by the rapid surge in the pan- demic and living every decision and adaptation every day that dynamically changed the provision of care helping minimize loss of life, makes for a unique perspective. The uniqueness of the experience of SBH Health System is enhanced by the fact that it is a capital-constrained “safety net” hospital serving the poorest population in New York City. The worldwide trend is toward tighter healthcare budgets with demands for higher efficiency and productivity. Within this low-budget safety-net hospital, we faced unique and often amplified challenges. There is a lot to be learned from the SBH Health System crisis management, including how efficient manage- ment, team building, management of limited resources, and collaborative workplace culture make the foundation of success in the face of the crisis of the century. Many senior healthcare administrators, chairpersons of clinical departments, and frontline workers are eager to learn lessons from health systems that experienced the severe surge of such an unprecedented crisis. From this book the reader will learn how to effectively plan and prepare for a health crisis in a speedy and efficient manner. Such planning and preparation involve clinical departments, critical care teams, nursing, respiratory therapy, physical therapy, nutrition, pharmacy, labora- tory, information technology, facilities, biomedical engineering, supply chain, senior administration, and others. Therefore, healthcare workers at all levels will be eager to learn about the procedures, policies, and operations that were implemented in the successful crisis management at SBH Health System. Similarly, this book will be of interest to public health officials and planners, disaster management plan- ners and educators, healthcare educators, and universities that teach public health administration and planning to learn how capital-constrained healthcare systems can adapt and cope with such a health crisis. The book also touches on the recovery from a health crisis and the “new norm” emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope this book provides useful lessons to ultimately help improve patient care when confronting health crises. Ridwan Shabsigh Acknowledgments and Appreciations As editor-in-chief of this book, I would like to express my highest acknowledgment and warmest appreciation to a number of individuals who worked hard to help bring this work to completion. My dear friends and colleagues at SBH Health System helped tremendously as effective chapter authors and co-authors. They shared their firsthand experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic and presented valuable lessons learned for the planning, preparation, and management of future health crises. Without them and their passionate efforts, this book would have never been possible. My special appreciation goes to Dr. Joanne (Jo) Nettleship and her team for their exceptional efforts in critically editing and effectively finalizing this work in the face of tight production timelines and delivery deadlines. The hard work of Dr. Nettleship brought high quality and professionalism into the production of this book. Ridwan Shabsigh xi
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