Weekly Progress Notes March 25

March 25, 2020

Coronavirus Preparedness: Visit the Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control website for updates.

 

NEWS & REMINDERS

 

COVID-19 Updates

 

*Notice Regarding 4700 Unit:

As of 4 p.m. on Monday, Mar. 23, the 4700 has been changed to a hyper-negative unit for ruled out COVID-19 patients. Entry into the unit requires a surgical face mask and should be limited.*

 

 

 

Guidance for Employee Exposure Concerns

In this short video, Lisa Maragakis, M.D., M.P.H., senior director of health care epidemiology and infection prevention, answers frequently asked questions about the proper steps all Johns Hopkins Medicine staff and faculty members, trainees and students should take if they have a fever or respiratory symptoms, or if they are worried they have been exposed to someone with the new coronavirus.

You can also to reference to this resource for clarity around what issues to report to Occupational Health. Download this memo for more information and refer to this list of Johns Hopkins Occupational Health contacts. 

 

Visitor and Vendor Restrictions

As of Monday, Mar. 23, no visitors are permitted to enter Suburban Hospital. Read the memo for exceptions.

 

Elective Procedures Cancelled Until Apr. 15

All elective procedures have been cancelled until Apr. 15. The surgical scheduling office will be notifying your practice and working with each of your offices to repost your cases. Download these talking points for more information.

 

Closure of Non-Essential Maryland Businesses and Restricted Public Transportation Use

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses in Maryland by 5 p.m. on Monday, Mar. 23. While he did not issue a shelter-in-place order, he did recommend that Maryland residents who are not deemed essential workers stay home except when going to grocery stores or pharmacies.

Additionally, on Thursday, Mar. 19, Governor Hogan announced that mass transit may only be used by certain personnel, including health care workers and emergency medical services. He said, “No one should get on a MARC train, metro, Amtrak train or bus or any of our transportation assets unless you are emergency personnel, a frontline health care provider or your job is essential to the supply chain.”

Please remember to carry your Suburban Hospital badge with you at all times—including when using public transportation, traveling in your personal car and while on the hospital campus—to show to authorities if requested.

 

Respiratory Symptom Precaution Clarification

All patients who are NOT Persons Under Investigation (PUI) or COVID-19 Positive WITH Respiratory symptoms (cough, fever, rhinorrhea and shortness of breath) should be placed on Respiratory Symptom Precautions.

That means:

• All providers entering patient room must wear a SURGICAL MASK and FACESHIELD plus GLOVES
• Remember to write your name on the mask and faceshield and save in a brown paper bag
• They are reusable as long as not soiled and the faceshield covers the mask.

 

We are reminding everyone to ensure your safety while maintaining adequate supply of PPE for sustained exposure to COVID-19.

Thank you for your understanding and support for the safety of our patients and staff.

 

Guidance on Conserving PPE

As COVID-19 continues to spread in the community, the need to implement a plan to safely conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) is a topic of vital interest to us all. Maintaining PPE supply for frontline staff to care for patients is a critical priority. Download this memo for the temporarily approaches JHM is adopting based on guidelines from the CDC.

You can also download this guide on Risk Mitigation Strategies and PPE Utilization sent to the JHM community on Mar. 24.

 

Ensuring Staff Members are Free of Flu-Like Symptoms at Work

All staff members must sign a Kronos Attestation or JHED ID verification in workstations. Download this memo for additional details. Employees are also asked to conduct a self-assessment before arriving at work.

 

Return to Work Policy

Employees who are exposed to COVID-19 through a member within their household will still need to self-isolate, even if asymptomatic, for 14 days. They should contact Occupational Health and remain quarantined at home and be monitored for symptoms. Please refer to this memo to learn more.

 

Social Distancing

Social distancing can help slow the spread of COVID-19. This means avoiding crowded places and maintaining distance from others

 

Please do your part to support social distancing at Suburban.

All meetings, regardless of size, should be reevaluated immediately to determine if they can either be canceled, postponed or held virtually using Zoom or a conference call rather than in-person.

 

Remote Access

If you are working remotely, there are a few ways you can access Johns Hopkins resources from offsite locations. Read this memo to learn more.

 

Free Resources Available in mySupport

myStrength has added resources related to managing heightened stress during COVID-19. To access these resources, visit resourcesforliving.com. On the right-hand side, enter “JHHS” for both the Username and the Password. Contact Jenna Sanborn at jsanbor4@jhmi.edu or x3878 with questions about mySupport.

Additional support services and resources are available to all JHM faculty and staff members, trainees and students to help address and alleviate the concerns, anxiety and stress that many of us are experiencing. Read through the list to determine which resources are the best fit for you.

 

Donning/Doffing of PPE Videos

If you have questions about the proper way to don and doff PPE, please view these videos for assistance.

• COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Healthcare Professionals
• PPE Training Video: Donning
• PPE Training Video: Doffing in the Patient Room
• PPE Training Video: Doffing Outside the Patient Room

 

Additional Updates and Resources

• DAILY COVID-19 Critical Updates – Tuesday, Mar. 24
• DAILY COVID-19 Critical Updates – Monday, Mar. 23
• COVID-19 Resources for JHHS Staff 
• Child Care Options
• Mar. 20 Oncology Grand Rounds Recording On COVID-19 
• MedChi Update on COVID-19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MEDICAL STAFF CALENDAR

 

Click here for the March 2020 calendar on HopkinsGreaterWashingtonMD.org.

 

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION

 

 

Johns Hopkins Medicine Continuing Medical Education Series

Mar. 25: Oncology Translational Research Conference “Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide: Revolutionizing the Understanding of a Revolutionary Therapy”—to be streamed online via Zoom at https://link.zixcentral.com/u/d341ec05/1gKNPE5u6hGOdY_Q9e_1Kg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fjhjhm.zoom.us%2Fj%2F4109559702. Text CME Code 22752 to 443-541-5052 up to eight hours after the event.

Mar. 27: Oncology Morbidity and Mortality Conference—to be streamed online via Zoom at https://link.zixcentral.com/u/d341ec05/1gKNPE5u6hGOdY_Q9e_1Kg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fjhjhm.zoom.us%2Fj%2F4109559702.

Mar. 27: Informatics Grand Rounds “Emerging Machine Learning Methods and the Future of Machine Learning in Healthcare”—click here for a direct link to the to Zoom webcast.

May 26 – June 10: Summer Institute in Mental Health Research. To register and learn more, click here.

 

 

EPIC TIP OF THE WEEK

 

 

COVID-19 Resources