Publication Date
2-1-2022
Journal
AORN Journal
DOI
10.1002/aorn.13604
PMID
35084769
PMCID
PMC9011624
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
1-27-2022
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
COVID-19, Child, Hospitals, Pediatric, Humans, Pandemics, SARS-CoV-2, Tertiary Care Centers, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), surgical volume, staffing, nonurgent procedures, block scheduling
Abstract
The detrimental effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have profoundly disrupted surgical care at health care facilities worldwide. At our tertiary pediatric hospital, we made substantial adjustments to surgical suite utilization and staff member scheduling to account for reductions in surgical volume, increased demand for staff members in other sectors of the hospital, and the highly infectious properties of the virus. Perioperative leaders took advantage of the pandemic's disruption to clinical activities to design and implement a new procedure-scheduling process to rectify the inefficiencies that had accumulated as the previous system evolved. The implementation of said directives was largely facilitated by establishing communication with all involved parties for their input and feedback throughout the process. Although COVID-19 has had varying effects on procedural operations across pediatric health care facilities, we believe our institutional response to the disruptive forces of COVID-19 is of benefit to pediatric hospitals worldwide.
Included in
Clinical Epidemiology Commons, COVID-19 Commons, Epidemiology Commons, Medical Sciences Commons, Medical Specialties Commons