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McLean J, Clark C, McKee A, Legue S, Cocking J, Lamarche A, Heerschap C, Morris S, Fletcher T, McKee C, Kennedy K, Gross L, Broeren A, Forder M, Barner W, Tebbutt C, Kings S, DiDiodato G. Pandemic Responsiveness in an Acute Care Setting: A Community Hospital's Utilization of Operational Resources During COVID-19. J Multidiscip Healthc 2022; 15:1309-1321. [PMID: 35726265 PMCID: PMC9206458 DOI: 10.2147/jmdh.s361896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background To ensure continuity of services while mitigating patient surge and nosocomial infections during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, acute care hospitals have been required to make significant operational adjustments. Here, we identify and discuss key administrative priorities and strategies utilized by a large community hospital located in Ontario, Canada. Methods Guided by a qualitative descriptive approach, we performed a thematic analysis of all COVID-19-related documentation discussed by the hospital’s emergency operation centre (EOC) during the pandemic’s first wave. We then solicited operational strategies from a multidisciplinary group of hospital leaders to construct a narrative for each theme. Results Seven recurrent themes critical to the hospital’s pandemic response emerged: 1) Organizational structure: a modified EOC structure was adopted to increase departmental interoperability and situational awareness; 2) Capacity planning: Design Thinking guided rapid infrastructure decisions to meet surge requirements; 3) Occupational health and workplace safety: a multidisciplinary team provided respirator fit-testing, critical absence adjudication, and wellness needs; 4) Human resources/workforce planning: new workforce planning, recruitment, and redeployment strategies addressed staffing shortages; 5) Personal protective equipment (PPE): PPE conservation required proactive sourcing from traditional and non-traditional suppliers; 6) Community response: local partnerships were activated to divert patients through a non-referral-based assessment and treatment centre, support long-term care and retirement homes, and establish a 70-bed field hospital; and 7) Corporate communication: a robust communication strategy provided timely and transparent access to rapidly evolving information. Conclusion A community hospital’s operational preparedness for COVID-19 was supported by inter-operability, leveraging internal and external expertise and partnerships, creative problem solving, and developing novel tools to support occupational health and community initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse McLean
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | - Cathy Clark
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | - Aidan McKee
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada.,School of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Suzanne Legue
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | - Jane Cocking
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | | | | | - Sarah Morris
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | | | - Corey McKee
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | | | - Leigh Gross
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | - Andrew Broeren
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | - Matthew Forder
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | - Wendy Barner
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | - Chris Tebbutt
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | - Suzanne Kings
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada
| | - Giulio DiDiodato
- Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Barrie, ON, Canada.,Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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