What would I do if in Charge of ED during Covid Outbreak The stay-at-home orders were sent
Question:
The stay-at-home orders were sent out too late according to this article. By the time Illinois placed it, there had been 585 positive Covid cases confirmed and five deaths across the country. The management of Covid in the emergency department (ED), would definitely be no easy task. The health and safety of the staff would be a major focus. Education and proper wearing of Personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to be implemented at frequent intervals. I think my plan would be to separate probable infections from the other patients immediately upon arrival. There would be a staff RN member designated to sit near security at the ED's entrance. The RN would then ask a few short questions such as why are you here? Are you here for Covid related symptoms? Do you have any coughing, fevers, congestion, headaches or shortness of breath? If the answer was yes, the patient would be taken to the Covid Triage area that has been designated for only those with Covid-like symptoms. A Covid Team RN would then triage the patients, vital signs taken and swab the patient for Covid confirmation. If symptoms were moderate to severe that patient would be taken back to the exam room where further assessments could be done by the Covid Advanced Provider Team. The staff would be trained on Covid 19 transmission prevention guidelines, such as cross-contamination prevention and how to properly wear the PPE designated for Covid 19 patients recommended by the Center for Disease Control. The Advanced Providers would then handle all Covid related patients according to their results and symptoms.
From Covid Case study in emergency preparedness.
B. Leiker and K. Wise, COVID - 19 case study in emergency medicine preparedness and response: from personal protective equipment to delivery of care, Disease-a-Month, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.disamonth. 2020.10106
Expert Answer:
If you were in charge of the emergency department ED during the COVID outbreak there are several important steps you could take to effectively manage ... View the full answer
