Provided by Sentara Health
Sentara is Prepared to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine
Consistent with CDC and ACIP recommendations, Sentara Healthcare is preparing to offer the COVID-19 vaccine first to healthcare workers with the highest risk of COVID-19 exposure. Phase 1 vaccine distribution will include emergency department staff, ICUs, COVID patient units, respiratory unit staff, cleaning and food service employees who interact with patients, and others. The COVID-19 vaccine will be optional for all employees.
Sentara is expecting to receive the Pfizer vaccine in the first allotment from VDH and VHHA. The vaccine will be shipped to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital initially, stored in the required ultra-cold storage freezer, and then relocated to Sentara Employee Health Clinics throughout all 12 hospitals at the appropriate time.
Sentara’s Employee Health nurses will administer the vaccine to employees based on their exposure risk to COVID-19. Employee Health nurses provide a number of different vaccines to employees year-round and are familiar with the process.
Sentara is currently preparing for Phase 1 vaccine distribution only. Plans have not been made yet on how the vaccine will be delivered to community members.
Sentara Healthcare Joins Top U.S. Hospitals in National #MaskUp Campaign
More than 100 of the nation’s top health systems, including Sentara Healthcare, have joined forces to encourage Americans to stop the spread of COVID-19 by following proven safety guidelines. The national #MaskUp campaign is critical to the health and well-being of all Americans. It is a plea from healthcare professionals everywhere: wear a mask and follow other precautions to save lives and help get our country back on its feet.
The campaign includes a series of public service messages from healthcare professionals across the country. One of the public service video messages makes the voices of those caring for our patients clear:
“You’ve called us heroes. But heroes don’t deserve this. We’ve fought hard to protect our communities. Month after month. Our shields are worn. Our resolve is being tested. Yet we press on. Because we truly want to see this pandemic end. We put our lives on the line daily to keep you safe. So, do something for us. Wear. A. Mask.”
Sentara COVID-19 Testing Lab Reaches New Milestone
The Sentara COVID-19 testing lab reached a new milestone, completing more than 200,000 COVID-19 tests since its creation in early April. The COVID-19 testing lab provides a critical resource to Sentara patients, employees, and the community during this pandemic. The testing lab at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital runs 24/7.
Sentara is one of three laboratories across the Commonwealth recently selected to join Virginia’s OneLab Network. The OneLab Network will expand testing capabilities throughout the Commonwealth by contracting with health systems to directly support public health efforts such as outbreak investigations, community testing events, and other priority testing needs. Sentara Laboratory Services is one of three health laboratories across the Commonwealth to be selected.
Funding from this partnership will allow Sentara to purchase additional testing equipment and increase in-house testing capabilities to meet demand. Currently, Sentara Labs are completing roughly 1,200 COVID-19 tests per day with a 24 to 48-hour turnaround time. Once the OneLab Network is operational, Sentara expects to be able to complete an additional 1,000 tests per day.
Sentara’s COVID-19 testing lab services patient testing needs across all 12 hospitals, five freestanding emergency departments, Sentara Medical Group primary care and specialty care offices, as well as Sentara employee testing needs.
Sentara Continues to Conserve PPE and Increase Storage Supply
During the first explosive weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sudden shortage of PPE was front and center for hospitals across the nation. Sentara was no different, and preserved PPE while Sentara Supply Chain found creative ways to secure new supplies.
One way Sentara has worked to conserve PPE is by changing the number of healthcare professionals who enter isolated patient rooms and by bundling services and treatment during those visits. Sentara nursing leadership came up with a new way to deliver the same quality of patient care, while reducing the exposure for staff and PPE usage. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, normal PPE usage among isolated patients amounted to 27 pieces of PPE per patient, per day. This rate of consumption was unsustainable due to supply chain uncertainties. Sentara’s new protocol bundles physician, nursing and support activities to reduce PPE consumption to just six pieces of PPE per patient, per day. Bundled services mean one clinician would visit a patient room and perform several needed tasks, such as deliver treatment, check vitals, provide food and water, and take out the trash if needed. This eliminates the need for additional people to suit up in PPE to enter the room.
The conservation protocol allows Sentara to maintain clinical quality and preserve precious PPE supplies while finding new sources of PPE. Sentara partnered with Regulus Global, an international logistics firm in Virginia Beach, to by-pass traditional supply chains and acquire ten cargo planes full of PPE from China. Sentara had to do something different or risk running out of PPE.
With a current surge of COVID-19 spread in our communities, the Sentara warehouse is stocked with millions of gowns, masks, gloves, face shields and other necessities. Sentara continues to purchase PPE through traditional suppliers and conserve through the bundling protocol. Sentara continues to reprocess N-95 masks with hydrogen peroxide misting and a new local manufacturer, PPE Premium, is supplying millions of additional procedure masks for Sentara staff.
These are examples of the creativity, agility and can-do attitude of the Sentara team in meeting challenges head-on and responding to rapidly evolving situations. Lessons learned during the pandemic will drive strategic decisions to keep team members and patients safe.
Hospital Visitation and Elective Surgeries Remain Unchanged
Sentara Healthcare is closely monitoring internal and external COVID-19 data to ensure we can quickly adapt policies and protocols to new information when appropriate. Sentara will make determinations regarding whether or not to proceed with non-emergent services or elective procedures based on trends within our facilities and in the regions we serve. Sentara is committed to making informed decisions that take into account the needs and safety of patients, employees, and the community.
At this time, Sentara continues to be able to provide care to all patients, including those with COVID-19 or other health concerns. The system continues to conduct non-emergent services and procedures, and there are no recent changes to system-wide visitation policies. Be sure to call an individual hospital before visiting, as some facilities may have additional visitation guidelines in place.
Visit sentara.com/safe for more information on current visitation policies and the protocols and measures in place to keep patients and employees safe at Sentara. The site will be updated with any future changes to policies and protocols.
