Being a member of Mass General Brigham health care system (also known as Partners HealthCare) has played a major role in helping Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Dr. Kevin Whitney.
Whitney, NWH’s senior vice president of Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer, said the coordination with the health care system’s incident command and surge planning teams has allowed he and other hospital leaders to do such things as convert a surgical unit to an additional ICU and repurpose procedural areas as inpatient units to prepare for and accommodate the surge of coronavirus patients.
“Working with the other Mass General Brigham hospitals has allowed us to tailor and refine our emergency operations plan, including our surge plan, using the data and predictions we get daily,” said Whitney, who earned his Doctor of Nursing Practice from MGH Institute of Health Professions in 2015. “Coordinating with the systems’ material management supply chain team has meant that we have the right equipment plus enough personal protective equipment to keep our staff safe while treating patients.”
He noted that he and other hospital leaders worked collaboratively across the system to have additional ventilators transferred to the hospital from the system stockpile. It also includes sharing Continuous Veno-Venous Hemofiltration (CVVH) machines, which allow for temporary treatment of patients with acute renal failure caused by the virus, with other hospitals including North Shore Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. This coordination ensures each hospital has what it needs most based on the volume of coronavirus patients.
Under typical circumstances, NWH’s one ICU has an average daily census of 10 patients in its 12-bed unit, with one or two patients on ventilators. The first phase of the ICU surge plan allowed the hospital to manage up to 24 additional ICU patients with an option to add additional beds if needed. “Under these challenging and unprecedented circumstances, we have worked closely with our nursing staff, physician colleagues, the entire care team and our support staff colleagues to staff these surge areas to provide care for patients in need and to ensure appropriate supports for the team,” Whitney said, noting that upwards of 80 percent of all inpatients had the virus at its peak.
He said the hospitals has maintained operations of core services such as the maternity and the emergency department, where COVID-19 protocols have also been instituted, and some staff from other hospital departments have been redeployed to temporary support roles. He also said input from staff and leadership helped create an atmosphere in which everyone has risen to meet the crisis’ challenge.
“We’ve been having more patients on ventilators recover and get discharged and that’s very encouraging,” said Whitney. “But we have also seen the sadness when patients, despite heroic efforts, have succumbed to COVID-19. During our virtual town hall meetings, we continue to honor and memorialize those patients who have passed by reading their first name which also has provided comfort to the entire team during these difficult times.”