Great leadership pays off in best practicesĮl Camino Health was also at the forefront of smart preparation by setting up a 24/7 “command center,” comprised of leadership from the hospital administration, nursing and other groups within the organization. “El Camino Health was a pioneer in that regard and did a great job working with both local and national health authorities to impact policy,” said Zach. This evidence helped change the CDC stance and allowed hospitals and clinics to start testing people without a travel history. The patient tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, giving credence to the growing notion that the virus was spreading within the community. The doctors felt the patient needed to be tested, and persistently communicated with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department until permission was finally given. However, when they called the public health authorities, they were told that testing wasn’t allowed since the patient didn’t have a travel history. After the examination, the specialists were concerned that the patient may have COVID-19. In late February, El Camino Health infectious disease specialists were asked to see a patient in the ICU with an unexplained respiratory failure. In addition, only patients with a travel history were being tested as the premise was that the virus was only seen in returning travelers. At that time, a patient could only get tested by the hospital sending three samples (nasal and throat swabs and a blood sample) to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. In February, when the virus first appeared on the radar in the greater Bay Area, all COVID-19 testing was controlled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which supplied testing materials to the local county public health departments. While ramping up its response was resource-intensive, it paid off as the crisis unfolded. ![]() Zach shared a behind-the-scenes look at El Camino Health as it prepared and rolled out its COVID-19 response.Īs one of the first hospitals to have a known community transmission COVID-19 case, El Camino Health played a key role in setting the stage and helping shape best practices and government policy. ![]() Zach is a hospitalist practicing primarily at El Camino Health’s Mountain View hospital and is a site director for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) Department of Hospital Medicine. The Fogarty Institute is very fortunate to have Zachary Edmonds, MD, as clinical advisor on its team. El Camino Health has been at the forefront of this crisis in an effort to stay ahead of the curve and prepare not only its own hospitals, but others in the area to best support Bay Area patients. While COVID-19 has presented extraordinary challenges globally, no one has felt it more acutely than those on the frontline, our incredibly brave healthcare workers.
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