Increasing Supportive Care for Patients with COVID-19 Related Respiratory Deterioration in Non-ICU Settings

Pre-pandemic hospital guidelines were unable to support an acute influx of patients with respiratory deterioration. New processes for general care practice were needed to facilitate patient care. A quality improvement project with 2 PDSA cycles was used to develop guidelines for high flow oxygen and prone positioning, along with frequent monitoring and collaboration with virtual critical care support. Over 6 months, 126 COVID-19 patients were cared for on general care units. Zero intubations occurred on the general care units, with 211 patient hospital days spent in general care that previously would have required an ICU bed. Patients in the general care setting with respiratory decline can safely be managed with appropriate monitoring criteria, oxygen device settings, and nursing support unitizing technology. Read the full article after watching this video.