NYC Health + Hospitals Releases Textbook About Covid-19 Response
The Covid-19 Response in New York City: Crisis Management in the Epicenter of the Epicenter is the definitive text on the pandemic The 400-page book was fully written and edited by leadership across NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal health system in the nation
Aug 19, 2024
NYC Health + Hospitals today announced the release of a textbook about the Covid-19 response, fully written and edited by the leadership of the nation’s largest municipal health system. The 400-page book, The Covid-19 Response in New York City: Crisis Management in the Epicenter of the Epicenter, covers the pandemic from the frontlines of the response, in the nation’s largest city and the first major city hit by Covid-19. The book covers how to respond to an unprecedented influx of inpatients, stand up a 24/7 contact tracing operation, distribute hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses, and manage provider burnout during a historic crisis. The book was written by nearly 100 staff across the health system who participated in the response and edited by three leaders of the emergency response: Laura Iavicoli, MD, MBA, FACEP, CHEP, the Chief Medical Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst; Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, MCP, CHEP, Chief Biopreparedness Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals; and Eric Wei, MD, MBA, Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals. Each chapter includes lessons learned, so healthcare leaders and public health professionals can learn best practices for the next large-scale emergency response, and a vignette from a frontline staffer. The book is available to purchase from Elsevier and Amazon. 100% of the proceeds will go to the NYC Health + Hospitals Helping Healers Heal program to support frontline staff through emotional and psychological trauma, second victimization, vicarious trauma, and burnout.
“COVID-19 demonstrated the critical role of a publicly owned and operated health system to respond to a major emergency,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “During the pandemic we served all New Yorkers, not just our own patients. Our role as a government agency gave us the ability to avoid cash flow problems, buy personal protective equipment and distribute them to other hospital systems, and receive patient transfers to our hospitals and to hotel rooms for quarantine. We hope the experience of COVID will encourage investment in public hospitals and public health departments across the nation.”
“NYC Health + Hospitals, the epicenter of the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic with Dr. Mitchelle Katz’ leadership, lead NYC through and out of the pandemic thanks to every single employee who ran into the fire to save as many lives as they could,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Chief Medical Officer Laura Iavicoli, MD, MBA, FACEP, CHEP. “Thanks to the facility department leadership who stood up new protocols and workflows against a novel, deadly virus. Thanks to unbelievable, and tireless facility and system leadership who encouraged innovation and thinking outside of the box to save lives and coordinate care throughout the health system. We are so proud of ALL of the authors of this book who spent the past few years writing and re-writing their chapters to convey lessons learned and save lives in future crises to come. Thank you one and all for everything you have done and continue to do to serve our amazing and deserving communities with the best care we could possibly give them.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented challenge for healthcare systems worldwide,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Chief Biopreparedness Officer Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, MCP, CHEP. “This book encapsulates the extraordinary efforts and innovations implemented across our health system, highlighting the critical strategies that enabled us to navigate the crisis and the unwavering dedication and resilience of our healthcare workforce. It stands as both a guide and a tribute to those who stood on the frontlines. Our experience in New York City during the pandemic has provided invaluable lessons in crisis management. We hope this book will serve as a crucial resource for healthcare leaders globally, offering a roadmap for future public health emergencies and ensuring we are better prepared for any future health threat.”
“There are no words to describe the pain, loss, and suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic in NYC,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer Eric Wei, MD, MBA. “We hope this book captures some of the stories of the healthcare heroes who bravely fought to save every life possible and the difficult lessons learned for future pandemics and other disasters so that we may mitigate some of that suffering.”
The book includes the following insights into the health system’s Covid-19 response:
- How to respond to an unprecedented surge of inpatients, including surge staffing and level loading.
- How to stand up to a mass vaccination response, including vaccine pods, mobile vaccine units, and using monoclonal antibody treatments and oral antibodies.
- How to manage healthcare provider burnout and develop a compassionate, supportive culture during a historic crisis.
- How the health system’s Correctional Health Services became the first in the nation to conduct COVID-19 testing in jails and the first correctional facility in New York State to offer COVID-19 vaccines to people in custody.
- How to stand up a 24/7 contact tracing operation with approximately 5,000 workers.
- How the public health system, as a governmental entity, served not only its own patients but all New York City residents who were sick with Covid-19, including setting up Covid-19 testing sites in low-income and minority neighborhoods, using its purchasing power to support other hospitals with acquiring equipment and temporary staffing, and supporting patients from its own and other hospitals with hotel rooms for isolating after discharge.
- How the health system created a philanthropy department in response to an outpouring of donations from around the world.
Between March 1, 2020 when New York City had its first confirmed case of Covid-19 and May 11, 2023 when the federal government declared an end to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, NYC Health + Hospitals saw over 25,000 Covid-19 patients. The health system brought on 3,000 additional ICU beds and hired 5,000 additional temporary nurses to respond to the surge of Covid-19 patients. Health system staff responded to 90,000 calls to the city’s Covid-19 Hotline for clinicians to answer questions on the virus, assess symptoms, and connect patients to care.
In addition, over the course of the COVID-19 public health emergency, NYC Health + Hospitals and the NYC Test & Trace Corps provided New Yorkers over 14.5 million COVID tests, over 150 million free COVID-19 rapid antigen at-home tests, and over 2.2 million vaccinations across its hospital facilities, mass vaccination sites, and fleet of mobile vaccination units. The Corps led the largest municipal testing and contact tracing program in the country, creating lasting innovations in how New Yorkers can access healthcare and becoming a leader in what localities can do to identify and break chains of transmission.
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About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.