Rapid response infrastructure for pandemic preparedness in a tertiary care hospital: lessons learned from the COVID-19 outbreak in Cologne, Germany, February to March 2020
Max Augustin, Philipp Schommers, Isabelle Suárez, Philipp Koehler, Henning Gruell, Florian Klein, Christian Maurer, Petra Langerbeins, Vanessa Priesner, Kirsten Schmidt-Hellerau, Jakob J Malin, Melanie Stecher, Norma Jung, Gerhard A. Wiesmüller, Arne Meißner, Janine Zweigner, Georg Langebartels, Felix Kolibay, Víctor Suárez, Volker Burst, Philippe Valentin, Dirk Schedler, Oliver A. Cornely, Michael Hallek, Gerd Fätkenheuer, Jan Rybniker, Clara Lehmann
Abstract
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused tremendous pressure on hospital infrastructures such as emergency rooms (ER) and outpatient departments. To avoid malfunctioning of critical services because of large numbers of potentially infected patients seeking consultation, we established a COVID-19 rapid response infrastructure (CRRI), which instantly restored ER functionality. The CRRI was also used for testing of hospital personnel, provided epidemiological data and was a highly effective response to increasing numbers of suspected COVID-19 cases.