Ensuring Safety and Wellness as Non-Essential Health Services Expand

Paul Generale works in Dallas as the chief strategy and network officer and an executive vice president of CHRISTUS Health, a Catholic health system comprised of dozens of hospitals and long-term care facilities. With a strong interest in industry trends, Paul Generale shares a focus with many health care providers in reinstating and expanding elective services during the COVID-19 pandemic in a safe, effective manner.

One built-in advantage for health care providers, compared with many businesses, is that they already have robust protocols in place to ensure patient safety and infection control. Nevertheless, increasing elective care volume involves careful monitoring of traffic flow through hallways, lobbies, patient rooms, and treatment areas.

This means establishing and publicly disseminating new standard operating procedures (SOPs) that ensure safety among patients, staff members, and visitors alike. Beyond social distancing mandates, this may mean more robust visitor screening protocols and more frequent disinfection and cleaning schedules. Other steps include decluttering spaces and removing nonessential items such as magazines, plants, and excess furniture. This streamlines the process of cleaning potentially infected surfaces.

Communication is just as critical, and news about these new protocols should be delivered in a clear, concise, and reassuring manner that gets all team and community members on the same page.