Development and Implementation of an Alternate Care Site During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction With the rampant spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the subsequent pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the need for medical resources has never been greater. In recent history, the deployment of surge medical facilities and their importance in improving the provision of crisis care became relevant. The primary objective of this study was to describe the development and implementation of an alternate care site (ACS) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This was a retrospective, single-center study that was conducted between April 7, 2020, and May 26, 2020, of adult patients from a primary facility admitted to an ACS, labeled Staten Island University Hospital East (SIUH-E). These select patients met specific inclusion criteria for SIUH-E before transfer. Results During the operational course of SIUH-E, 813 patients were screened and 203 patients were accepted for transfer. Of the patients admitted to SIUH-E, 120 (59%) were male. The mean age was 63 years (SD = 13.91). The mean length of stay was 3.93 days (SD = 3.94). Among discharged patients, 179 (88%) were discharged to home or another long-term facility, whereas 24 (12%) patients required a transfer back to the main campus. Conclusions In this study, we describe the development and implementation of an alternate care surge facility during the COVID-19 pandemic. SIUH-E played a vital role in effectively caring for select COVID-19 patients, which allowed the primary facilities to treat a greater volume of higher acuity patients. The combined efforts of the state and hospital were able to create and sustain a safe, practical alternative care facility.

Operation of an alternate care facility in Seoul, Korea: Responding to the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic

“…Similar to the US State Island University Hospital East (SIUH-E), the NMC-FED had advantages in providing care with continuity [3]. It cared for patients, who were stable but not ready for discharge and were transferred from the main hospital; the seamless integration of systems (for example, electronic medical records, prescription, and laboratory tests)…”

“…a psychiatric facility yet to open [3], convention centers [1,17], and a gymnasium [18], and operated in a limited time of medical surges. For example, in Wuhan city, about 4,000 beds were made within 29 hours and 16 hospitals with 13,000 beds were constructed in the following 3 weeks; these Fangcang shelter hospitals provided care to 12,000 patients [4].…”

“…In response of the COVID-19 pandemic, several types of alternative care facility (ACFs) were introduced worldwide [1][2][3][4][5]. The characteristics of these ACFs vary depending on the size of the outbreak, local context and resources, and the underlying healthcare system.…”

Development of COVID-19 Isolation Facility Management System with Scrum Framework

“…((total_odd -5) + (total_even -25)) x 2.5 = score (1) Ten (10) participants were asked to participate in the usability testing, and this system obtained an average score of 94.5. Scores from each participant is shown in Table 3.…”

“…Alternate care sites refer to a location converted to provide health care services when existing health care facilities are affected by disasters or when there is an unexpectedly high volume of patients, such as during a pandemic [9]. One of these ACS was developed by Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) and used South Beach Psychiatric Facility to offload some of the COVID-19 patients from the main hospital [10]. However, because the students' dormitories lacked the equipment and clinical support from hospitals, the isolation facility set up by the President University Foundation could not handle patients with serious symptoms or comorbidities.…”