In late 2019, a novel virus of COVID-19 (commonly known as the “coronavirus”) began sweeping across the globe, creating a devastating and deadly pandemic. With very little known about transmission or treatment of the virus, it quickly became the largest pandemic the world has faced in modern history. As a result, healthcare organizations have been required to quickly adapt their workplace practices to face the unknown and effectively serve their community in need. Throughout this process, it has become clear that without proper policies in place, or an adequate supply of personal protective equipment, healthcare systems lacked preparedness for an effective response to a pandemic of this scale. Recommended strategies for preparing for future pandemics include: developing policies and procedures; laboratory research and testing; employee support; as well as technology and training.
The COVID-19 pandemic first presented in Southeast Asia, with individuals exhibiting severe respiratory distress and flu-like symptoms. Review of the phylogeny of genomic sequences of the first cases produced evidence supporting the claim that the virus was introduced to the human race via the animal kingdom (Heymann et. al., 2020, pg. 543). The virus appeared to have many similarities when compared to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), but was found to have the closest genetic similarity to a coronavirus strain found originating in bats. After the first outbreak, the transmission of COVID-19 was shown to be almost entirely from human to human contact via the respiratory tract through sputum. “The coronavirus is known to live on surfaces for hours or days, but it is also effectively killed by available disinfectants when properly used” (Adams et al., 2020, pg. 1). Once an individual is infected with COVID-19, the virus replicates efficiently through host cells in the upper respiratory tract. COVID-19 is spherical in structure and is covered in spike shaped glycoproteins that help the virus attach and enter the host cell (Ralph et al., 2020, pg. 7). Interestingly, individuals can have little to no onset symptoms for approximately a fourteen-day period. This unique characteristic intensifies the spread of the virus due to newly infected asymptomatic individuals spreading the virus to others during contact through everyday life and international travel. At the current time, there are no licensed vaccines or antivirals for COVID-19 which has resulted in an emphasis on preventing transmission through social distancing, handwashing, and mask wearing. Many countries have implemented travel bans and lockdowns to slow the pandemic and reduce community transmission. As a result, the timeliness of the reaction time and the scale of protective measures within a community have directly affected the impact within the related region. More timely reaction times and larger scale protective measures have resulted in less impact of the pandemic in related communities.
Conclusion
This pandemic required healthcare organizations and their workers to quickly adapt workplace practices to effectively serve their community. Through this time period, it became clear that the nation’s healthcare system was ill prepared in effectively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. With so much uncertainty and very little knowledge of the virus and its transmission, this resulted in widespread hospitalizations and deaths throughout the U.S. This underscored the importance for healthcare organizations to plan and prepare for future pandemics.
To learn from this experience, healthcare organizations must first develop policies and procedures for facing pandemics. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of tools, policies, and procedures caused uncertainty and unpreparedness. Not only do policies and procedures need to be developed for direct patient care, but also for human resources and throughout the healthcare system. Having reference tools and manuals readily available for employees will enable organizations to reduce stress and uncertainty while facing the pandemic head-on.
Once effective policies and procedures are implemented, annual training and tools should be developed to ensure that employees feel adequately prepared. It is noteworthy that throughout this pandemic, technology utilization has increased for communication and healthcare services. By utilizing technology, healthcare organizations can provide ongoing staff preparation. Technology and training simulations enable organizations to be prepared, with ease and safety at any location.
Another significant hurdle faced throughout the U.S. was reliance upon outside countries for medical equipment. This resulted in healthcare workers providing care without proper protection. Going forward, organizations should investigate the viability of developing emergency reserves that can be used during a pandemic. By maintaining reserves of supplies, healthcare organizations can ensure that adequate supplies are available when needed. Living and working in the healthcare field during this pandemic has resulted in learned experience that will help the U.S. be more prepared in the future. The U.S. must learn from these experiences. By following the recommendations of early action, policy preparedness, medical supply monitoring, and epidemiological investigations, healthcare organizations can be better equipped for future pandemics. Implementing these steps can allow the country to be ahead of a pandemic curve and adequately serve those patients in need.
About the Author
With a background in healthcare management, Gabrielle Conrad works at NorDx Laboratories at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, where she has been promoted to Quality Specialist. In addition, she has recently completed her MHA degree with Saint Joseph's College / Maine. This blog post was adapted from her graduate Capstone research, “Pandemic Preparedness in the United States Healthcare System.”
References
Adams, J. G., & Walls, R. M. (2020). Supporting the Health Care Workforce During the COVID-19 Global Epidemic. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 323(15), 1439–1440. https://ezproxy.sjcme.edu:2102/10.1001/jama.2020.3972
Heymann, D. L., Shindo, N., & WHO Scientific and Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Hazards. (2020). COVID-19: what is next for public health? Lancet, 395(10224), 542–545. https://ezproxy.sjcme.edu:2102/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30374-3
Ralph, R., Lew, J., Tiansheng Zeng, Francis, M., Bei Xue, Roux, M., Ostadgavahi, A. T., Rubino, S., Dawe, N. J., Al-Ahdal, M. N., Kelvin, D. J., Richardson, C. D., Kindrachuk, J., Falzarano, D., & Kelvin, A. A. (2020). 2019-nCoV (Wuhan virus), a novel Coronavirus: human-to-human transmission, travel-related cases, and vaccine readiness. Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, 14(1), 3–17. https://ezproxy.sjcme.edu:2102/10.3855/jidc.12425
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