BACKGROUND The first coronavirus (COVID‐19) case was reported in United States in the state of Washington, approximately 3 months after the outbreak in Wuhan, China. Three weeks later, the US federal government declared the pandemic a national emergency. The number of confirmed COVID‐19 positive cases increased rather rapidly and changed routine daily activities of the community. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS This brief report describes the response from the hospital, the regional blood center, and the hospital‐based transfusion services to the events that took place in the community during the initial phases of the pandemic. RESULTS In Washington State, the first week of March started with four confirmed cases and ended with 150; by the end of the second week of March there were more than 700 cases of confirmed COVID‐19. During the first week, blood donations dropped significantly. Blood units provided from blood centers of nonaffected areas of the country helped keep inventory stable and allow for routine hospital operations. The hospital‐based transfusion service began prospective triaging of blood orders to monitor and prioritize blood usage. In the second week, blood donations recovered, and the hospital postponed elective procedures to ensure staff and personal protective equipment were appropriate for the care of critical patients. CONCLUSION As community activities are disrupted and hospital activities switch from routine operations to pandemic focused and urgent care oriented, the blood supply and usage requires a number of transformations.

The CTS-D provides a universal transfusion record that improves patient safety. As health care systems are enlarged, centralization of the transfusion component of the medical record should be considered.

Objectives The first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case in the United States was reported in Washington State. The pandemic caused drastic disruptions to medical institutions, including medical education. The Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Washington responded by rapidly implementing substantial changes to medical student clerkships. Methods In real time, we converted one ongoing case- and didactic-based course, LabM 685, to remote learning. Results Fifteen of 17 scheduled sessions proceeded as planned, including two sessions for student presentations. Two didactics were canceled as the functions of the teleconferencing platform were not sufficient to proceed. One grand rounds speaker canceled due to COVID-19 precautions. Elements of an immersive clinical laboratory clerkship, LabM 680, were repurposed to accommodate 40 medical students per class via remote learning, highlighting clinical laboratory activities that continue throughout the outbreak. A new remote clerkship, MedSci 585C, was developed incorporating distance learning and guided small-group sessions. This coincided with parallel efforts to make resident and fellow service work, conferences, and didactics available remotely to comply with social distancing. Conclusions The changes in medical education described reflect the dynamic interplay of current events affecting the world of clinical pathology. Throughout this, technology—while with some limitations—has provided the platform for innovative learning.