In Safe Hands: First complex heart surgery at Reddington Hospital a huge success despite COVID-19

Adaptations made as Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City during the COVID-19 outbreak to keep health care workers and patients safe are now being used as a blueprint for how to prepare for future health care crises. Working with doctors, health experts and architects, the hospital documented all changes and studied the effectiveness and applicability of enacting the same measures as a more permanent protocol.

When New York hospitals became overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, the military deployed and staffed a Navy hospital ship and built a military field hospital in a nearby convention center to help with the caseload. Although military personnel weren't able to treat the vast majority of patients due to resource availability, hospital officials are calling their efforts a success having lessened the overall burden and learned lessons that will be applied should a second wave of cases hit.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus is treating its patients both inside the hospital and in their community by helping to fund the construction of affordable housing and a workforce initiative that is creating jobs. Through these actions, the hospital recognizes that to properly care for their patients they need to not only address their personal health but also the social determinants of heath.

A tension fabric structures manufacturing company in Maine has repurposed their facility and transformed their local workforce to create grade-one medical masks for the local hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic. Because the company uses only U.S.-made materials, they have been able to avoid supply chain interruptions and now plans to continue making masks as part of their standard business model even after the pandemic passes.

A UNM-Taos nursing program has been touted by the college and the hospital as a great example of workforce development in a community that has long struggled with economic development. As leaders continue to look for ways to diversify the economy beyond low-paying tourism and service industry gigs, the program might be one example of how to effectively merge education and workforce development.

The Community Health Program’s Great Barrington Health Center and the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester partnered together to provide a residency program to attract nurse practitioners to the area. The program helps train nurse practitioners to provide care and master concepts like insurance policies and medical computer systems in areas that are lacking these medical professionals.

An organization in Italy, spearheaded by a father who has a child with autism, is working to train local businesses how to recognize, react, and serve families who may have a member in their party with autism. Although not all companies have expressed interest in the program, 120 businesses and services across Italy have signed up to participate in the training so far. The Covid-19 pandemic has halted some of the training aspects, but the organization has found additional opportunities to educate partner businesses in the meantime.

The San Francisco Bay Area has had fewer COVID-19 deaths than would be expected for such a densely populated area, largely by "drawing on resources and expertise that predated the coronavirus pandemic." Unlike other large cities, the Bay Area was able to quickly identify where hotspots may emerge, and initiate changes – such as allowing only one entrance to hospitals and not using traveling certified nursing assistants in multiple nursing homes. City health officials also increased outreach to at-risk minority neighborhoods, after seeing the virus disproportionately impacting these communities elsewhere.

VotERdoctors partners with doctors, clinics, community centers, and hospitals to register voters. Staff can wear badges with a QR code that patients can scan with their cellphone, which takes them to a webpage that offers information about how to register to vote, including a live help line if the patient gets stuck. Some facilities, such as Progressive Community Health Centers in Milwaukee, send monthly text messages to their patients to remind them to register. VotER is being used by more than 300 U.S. hospitals and about 40,000 patients have gotten help registering or requesting ballots.

What started as a small group of young adults wanting to help their aging parents navigate telehealth during the coronavirus pandemic, is now a multi-state program that provides devices to seniors and low-income people as a way to close the digital divide. The group has grown to over 300 volunteers and partners with local health care providers, who in turn help their patients set up their new devices provided by the organization.