Schiavonia Hospital response to COVID-19 outbreak: a first single-center experience.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: On 21 February 2020, Schiavonia Hospital (SH) detected the first 2 cases of COVID-19 in Veneto Region. As a result of the underlying concomitant spread of infection, SH had to rearrange the clinical services in terms of structural changes to the building, management of spaces, human resources and supplies, in order to continue providing optimal care to the patients and staff safety. The aim of this article is to describe how SH was able to adjust its services coping with the epidemiological stages of the pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three periods can be identified; in each one the most important organizational modifications are analyzed (hospital activities, logistical changes, communication, surveillance on HCW). RESULTS: The first period, after initial cases' identification, was characterized by the hospital isolation. In the second period the hospital reopened and it was divided into two completely separated areas, named COVID-19 and COVID-free, to prevent intra-hospital contamination. The last period was characterized by the re-organization of the facility as the largest COVID Hospital in Veneto, catching exclusively COVID-19 patients from the surrounding areas. CONCLUSIONS: SH changed its organization three times in less than two months. From the point of view of the Medical Direction of the Hospital the challenges had been many but it allowed to consolidate an organizational model which could answer to health needs during the emergency situation.