New Digital HCA Healthcare Magazine with Special COVID-19 Feature: Voices from the Frontlines
The latest edition of the HCA Healthcare Magazine celebrates how colleagues create healthier tomorrows for our patients, communities and each other. In addition to the print magazine, which were mailed to colleagues’ homes this past week, you may now read expanded and interactive content via the recently launched digital HCA Healthcare Magazine.
Topics: All Network Staff, Coronavirus
As one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, HCA Healthcare is committed to helping overcome COVID-19. We are proud to leverage our scale and resources during this pandemic to help others by contributing up to 1,000 ventilators to the Dynamic Ventilator Reserve, a public-private collaboration announced at a recent White House briefing.
HCA Healthcare’s chief executive officer, Sam Hazen, met with the president and healthcare executives at the White House on April 14.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important we pull together. In keeping with our commitment to the care and improvement of human life, HCA Healthcare is leveraging our resources, in conjunction with the federal government and other hospital systems, to help others across the nation. HCA Healthcare will provide as many as 1,000 ventilators as part of the American Hospital Association’s collaboration with the federal government and health systems to distribute this critical piece of equipment to hospitals experiencing a surge of patients with COVID-19.
HCA Healthcare chief executive officer Sam Hazen participated in a White House briefing with President Donald J. Trump on April 14 to announce the launch of the Dynamic Ventilator Reserve. This new public-private collaboration will distribute ventilators to critical areas of need in the fight against COVID-19.
The Dynamic Ventilator Reserve will include an online inventory of ventilators and associated supplies, such as tubing and filters, to support the overall needs of combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and health systems will input into the database available equipment that they are able to lend to others. Providers are then able to request access to this virtual inventory should their need for ventilators increase. The AHA will manage the inventory with full transparency to those participating in the effort and work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine when ventilators might be needed to supplement the national emergency stockpile.
“I stand here before you in front of our 285,000 colleagues who provide care to patients every day across the country,” Hazen said when addressing President Trump, officials and members of the media at an announcement of the public-private effort in the White House Rose Garden. “One of the guiding principles we had when we went into this COVID-19 battle was to find partnerships—partnerships with other components of the healthcare industry, partnerships with other health systems and partnerships with governments, both local and federal. We’re proud to be part of this public-private sector partnership, and I think it’s going to do great good for the community.”
HCA Healthcare’s supply chain leadership team, including Ed Jones, the CEO of HealthTrust Purchasing Group, a subsidiary of the company, played an instrumental role in the creation of the Dynamic Ventilator Reserve and worked with the AHA, the Federation of American Hospitals, the White House Coronavirus Task Force and other major healthcare group purchasing organizations on its development. It is a concept that can be applied to other critical areas of need that may emerge as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve.
HCA Healthcare is working with organizations throughout the country—including local and state governments, the federal government, healthcare companies, technology companies, and other health systems—to pool resources, expertise and capabilities and create innovative alliances that help improve the national response to COVID-19. For example, last week HCA Healthcare, Google Cloud and SADA announced the creation of an open data platform to help hospitals and communities prepare for and respond to COVID-19.
Topics: All Network Staff, Coronavirus
Problem: The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has made social distancing and isolating in our homes the new normal. As a result, people need new ways to access health care.
Solution: Expand HCA Healthcare’s telehealth capabilities to support the rapidly evolving challenges of our clinical staff to meet the needs of our patients in response to COVID-19.
Across HCA Healthcare, our telehealth capabilities are enabling a more efficient and safer way to deliver care. Fortunately we already had a strong foundation of using telehealth in our facilities. Our experience ranges from delivering life-saving care to stroke victims by connecting neurologists to emergency department (ER) physicians, to providing emergent psychiatry consultations to deploying remote monitoring for solid organ and bone marrow transplant patients, all via secure, bidirectional audio/video telehealth capabilities.
But, COVID-19 is more complex challenge. Patients’ symptoms are wide-ranging and the virus can be transmitted by those with no outward symptoms. That’s why we have been rapidly deploying telehealth capabilities in various formats to better serve all our patients, symptomatic or asymptomatic, and reduce potential exposure to COVID-19.
There are three primary goals in using telehealth in response to COVID-19:
In the last three weeks, we have enabled multiple telehealth video and mobile applications to be used by 6,000+ providers in our outpatient and hospital-based clinics and added more than 2,000 telehealth endpoints in our hospitals. This is enabling physicians and nurses to utilize video and mobile solutions to stay connected in multiple formats (live video, text and remote monitoring) to treat both COVID-19 and non-COVID patients.
The ways we are using telehealth include:
Outpatient Clinics – Our Physician Services Group (PSG) has enabled telehealth across all of our physician clinics. Last week alone, our physicians conducted more than 13,000 telehealth primary care and specialty clinic visits with 24,000 appointments scheduled for this week. As we continue to ramp up, we are projecting 100,000 telehealth clinic visits will be completed in April. We’re also focused on ramping up telehealth services to support chronically-ill patients who are at a greater risk for contracting COVID-19, including cancer patients who would normally be seen at a Sarah Cannon clinic.
Patient and Employee monitoring – Given the nature of COVID-19, it’s important to continue close monitoring of persons under investigation, meaning those who have been screened in an HCA Healthcare facility for potential exposure to COVID-19. We are also using the same remote monitoring to actively support HCA Healthcare colleagues who have potentially been exposed to COVID-19. Through Vivify Health’s remote patient monitoring (RPM) mobile app, the Care Assure nurse team can stay in routine contact with the patient and intervene, when necessary, via secure text or phone call to manage care decisions through the Vivify Health mobile app (Vivify Go). This capability allows for continuity of care for our patients and employees, even if an individual doesn’t show severe symptoms.
Inpatient treatment – For patients who require hospitalization, we are increasing the use of telehealth solutions to allow for care teams to see their patients for remote consultations, daily rounding and any specialty visit that does not require a physical exam. We can quickly and easily complete specialist visits (cardiology, oncology, critical care, etc.) utilizing our telehealth endpoints without adding risk to the patient or physician. These telehealth capabilities are helping reduce exposure to our entire care team, as well as preserving critical PPE in the hospital.
Urgent Care – Virtual urgent care visit capabilities have been deployed nationwide all of our CareNow clinics. This allows patients to consult with a physician via video chat, while staying home and avoiding potential exposure. This also helps reduce risk for physicians and other patients with conditions that do require in-person treatment.
Battling the COVID-19 pandemic requires organizations like HCA Healthcare to become agile problem solvers and quickly adopt new solutions. Telehealth is just one of the enabling capabilities we are deploying to both protect our front line caregivers and provide safe, effective care to the people we serve. By equipping all of our sites of care with telehealth capabilities, it enables our teams to continue to care like family.
Topics: All Network Staff, Coronavirus
Our dedication to caring like family extends beyond our hospitals’ walls into the communities where we live and work. During this unprecedented time, we are honored to strengthen relationships with neighbors in our hometowns. The HCA Healthcare Foundation, the philanthropic arm of HCA Healthcare, and a tax exempt trust affiliated with HCA Healthcare will provide more than $1 million in grants to local community organizations to aid in COVID-19 relief efforts.
“Like our colleagues that are serving on the frontlines of this crisis by providing lifesaving care to patients, local organizations are also stepping up to address the needs of their communities in remarkable ways, including emergency response, addressing food shortages and providing childcare for healthcare workers and first responders,” said Sam Hazen, chief executive officer of HCA Healthcare. “HCA Healthcare is honored to support our communities during this unprecedented time of rapidly changing needs.”
The one-time grants of $10,000 to $250,000 have been distributed to community partners that are focused on the COVID-19 emergency response and food banks, including:
“We are so honored by this gift of love,” said Natalie Jayroe, president and chief executive officer of Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana. “It is because of generous support from partners like HCA Healthcare that our staff and volunteers will be able to provide meals and emergency food in the weeks and months to come for those most impacted by this emergency.”
Additional grants will be made to HCA Healthcare community partners in Florida, Colorado and Kansas.
HealthTrust Workforce Solutions is a proud of the United Way Broward County.
Topics: All Network Staff, Coronavirus
President Trump announced a new initiative for hospitals to lend unused ventilators to areas of need, called the "Dynamic Ventilator Reserve", during a meeting on Tuesday, April 14th, with healthcare executives at the White House.
The new public-private partnership is aimed at allowing hospitals to lend unused ventilators to areas that need them treat patients who have contracted COVID-19. There are currently 60,000 unused ventilators in hospitals across the country. The new program will help get the critical devices to areas that need them.
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation CEO Adam Boehler, who is leading the initiative, thanked Sam Hazen from HCA Healthcare and Lloyd Dean (SP) from Common Spirit for leading this effort with the AHA and the Federation of American Hospitals.
Sam shared how proud HCA Healthcare is to be a part of this private-public sector partnership and that he thinks that’s the only way fundamentally to solve this crisis. During the briefing he talked about one of the guiding principles HCA had when it went into this COVID-19 battle was to find partnerships, partnerships with other components of the industry, partnerships with other health systems, but partnerships with governments, both local and federal.
In addition to HCA Healthcare, more than a dozen healthcare executives participated, including other leaders from Premier, LifePoint Health, NYU Langone, the American Hospital Association, the Federal Association of Hospital, and the Cleveland Clinic.
Topics: All Network Staff, Coronavirus
Please review attached guidance on extended use and re-use of PPE gowns. Included on the document are Frequently Asked Questions.
Gown PPE
Thank you for your continued DEDICATION to Patient care!
Topics: All Network Staff, Coronavirus
Thank you to all of the caregivers and essential personnel on the front lines fighting COVID-19 and those who are staying home to do your part.
It's important that we all stay connected during these uncertain times.
Remember, we're in this together!
Topics: All Network Staff, Coronavirus
Please enjoy the video the Division and Facility leaders in North Texas created to share sincere gratitude and appreciation for the work you are doing every day to care for our patients, each other, and our communities.
https://mediaconnect.medcity.net/media/COVID-19+Gratitude/0_f8e3rt8g
Thank you for ALL you DO!
Topics: All Network Staff, Coronavirus
Please review the updated version of PPE Reuse Guidelines.
Thank you for your continued DEDICATION to patient care!
Topics: All Network Staff
Please review guidance on appropriate PPE selection.
Appropriate Face Protection Combinations
COVID-19 Appropriate PPE for Patient Care Areas Summary
Thank you for all your HARD work and DEDICATION to patient care!
Topics: All Network Staff
