COVID-19: The Impact on Emergency Preparedness

Is there any area of healthcare facilities the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t changed in the last year? The short answer is no. The longer answer is that some areas have been affected more than others.

Two physician leaders at Cincinnati-based UC Health recently discussed the way the health system has grappled with COVID-19, according to Health Leaders. For example, the organization has improved its emergency preparedness and is undertaking a major emergency department renovation.

"We are renovating a very old emergency department,” the physician says. “After seeing what we went through with Ebola and seeing what we have been going through with the pandemic, we saw the need for integration of capabilities.

“For example, we have taken a second look at how many negative pressure rooms we are going to have and how much 'blow out' space we need to expand capacity when necessary. The pandemic demonstrated the importance of integrating those kinds of things into the design of this new emergency department.”