OBJECTIVE The study objective was to examine the effectiveness of a bedside checklist enforcing nursing-led interventions in hospitalized COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic. BACKGROUND The absence of treatment guidelines for COVID-19 presented challenges to reducing mortality rates early in the pandemic. A bedside checklist and a bundle of nursing-led interventions named “Nursing Back to Basics (NB2B)” were assembled for patient care after a scoping review of evidence. METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted to investigate the impact of the evidence-based interventions randomly implemented based on patient bed assignment. Electronic data (patient demographics, bed assignment and ICU transfers, length of stay, and patient discharge disposition) were extracted and calculated using descriptive statistics, t tests, and linear regression. RESULTS Patients receiving the NB2B intervention enforced with a bedside checklist had significantly lower mortality rates (12.3%) compared with those receiving standard nursing care (26.9%). CONCLUSIONS Bedside checklists enforcing evidence-based nursing-led interventions may be beneficial as a 1st-line public health emergency response.