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All information contained in this email is confidential and not to be shared outside of the organization.
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Dr. Sid Roychowdhury
and the
Special Procedures
team completed their first neuroembolization on a COVID-positive patient yesterday (Saturday, 3/21).
The procedure went well and the team did great.
We are
#RWJUHSTRONG
!
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RWJUH COVID Situational Update
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As of 12:00 PM,
RWJUH
had
18 COVID-positive patients
in the hospital. Tests on additional patients and potential discharges of positive patients were pending. At least nine COVID 19-positive inpatient have recovered and been discharged.
RWJUH has had 36 COVID 19-positive tests to date.
As of 1:00 PM, the
NJ Dept. of Health
is reporting
1,914 COVID-positive patients
in the state -- an
increase of 590
from yesterday -- and
20 deaths
. Of those, 147 positive patients are in Middlesex County, 158 are in Monmouth County, and 51 are in Somerset County. All 21 counties in NJ have at least 1 positive patient.
--New State DOH COVID-19 Website--
The State of NJ, along with the NJ Dept. of Health, has launched a
new website
for all information about
COVID-19
:
https://covid19.nj.gov/
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REMINDER: Call For IP Approval BEFORE
Ordering COVID-19 Testing
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RWJUH
is continuing to conduct a
LIMITED
number of COVID-19 tests
in-house.
ALL REQUESTS FOR COVID-19 TESTING MUST GO THROUGH INFECTION PREVENTION
.
The NEW phone number for testing approval is
732-947-9620
.
NOTE: This is a new phone number, opened Tuesday.
PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THIS NUMBER WITH ANYONE OUTSIDE OF RWJUH.
DO NOT CALL THE COVID-19 HOSPITALIST TEAM SEEKING ASSISTANCE IN GETTING TESTING APPROVED
. The Hospitalist team is focused on caring for these patients and does not influence testing decisions.
For Infection Prevention questions, please use extensions
2480
/
4482
/
7552
/
4474
during regular business hours. The public may call
1-800-222-1222
for any COVID-19 questions.
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Do NOT Send Patients To ED Unless
They Require Hospitalization
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Please
do
NOT
send patients to the RWJUH Emergency Department for COVID-19 testing
unless they require hospitalization
.
Due to a
shortage of swabs and viral transport medium
, RWJUH is currently unable to test everyone who comes into the Emergency Department.
As noted above, all tests require the approval of RWJUH Infection Prevention.
Outpatient testing facilities
are now open in
Bergen County
,
Monmouth County
(beginning tomorrow), and
Union County
(beginning tomorrow, for Union County residents only).
Morris County
is also setting up a county-run testing facility for residents.
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- New guidelines are in place for the handling of COVID-positive decedents. All expirations of COVID-positive patients must be reported to the Medical Examiner's office and the NJ DOH Communicable Disease alert statement must be included, with COVID-19 written in as the infectious agent. CLICK HERE for the full guidelines.
- New visitor restrictions are being put in place in the NICU. Effective tonight, NO visitors will be allowed. Additional visitor restrictions are being considered in OB/L&D. Additional protective measures, including masking visitors, are being put in place on those units in the meantime.
- ALL donation offers -- including, but not limited to, masks, money and volunteering -- must be approved by RWJUH leadership. Please email the Medical Staff Office at [email protected] and the RWJUH Command Center at [email protected] with all offers and donation-related questions.
- ALL transfers into RWJUH must be reviewed and approved by the Service Chief. Any patients that have tested positive for, or suspected of having COVID-19 must be approved by the Chief Medical Officer or his designee.
- ALL coordination with government officials must be handled through hospital leadership. If you have questions or suggestions for state leaders, please email Dr. Salwitz and he will coordinate with RWJUH leadership.
- If you are concerned you may have been exposed to a COVID-19 positive patient, either in the community or in the hospital, please self-monitor your symptoms, including checking your temperature twice a day. Report any symptoms/temperature over 100.4 to RWJUH Corporate Care/Employee Health.
- Additionally, all members of the Medical Staff are expected to protect confidential information, including the information contained in this email. DO NOT SHARE with the press or on social media. Given the volatility of the current environment, especially on social media, you should always use caution in what you post. If you are approached by the media for interviews, please reach out to the RWJUH Medical Staff Office to aid in clearing with the hospital Public Affairs team any hospital information that can be shared.
- The RWJUH Cafeteria has converted to prepackaged foods only. Policies for Food & Nutrition are continuing to be reviewed. The Safari Cafe outside the BMSCH lobby will be closed until further notice.
- An RWJBH employee/internal stakeholder hotline has been opened to answer all COVID-19 related questions. The hotline -- 1 (833) 579-0862 -- is manned 24/7 by clinical professionals. CLICK HERE for more details on that and more in the latest RWJBH System Update.
- As part of RWJUH's continuing efforts to support the Surge Plan, the Dept. of Pathology will not be performing elective, family-driven autopsies. Clinician-requested autopsies on non-COVID patients will still be considered. Any COVID-related deaths must be referred to the Office of the Medical Examiner. CLICK HERE for details.
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These links are provided solely for your consideration. The RWJUH Medical Staff Office is not providing these as recommendations for care of patients.
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As with many emerging pathogens, the science of COVID-19 is always evolving. The latest research has led to
new guidelines
from the
CDC
and
WHO
on
PPE requirements
, which have been adopted by
RWJUH
,
RWJBarnabas Health
, and many large hospital systems state- and nationwide.
For many situations, droplet precautions + eye protection are now the rule.
For assessment or routine treatment of all suspected or positive COVID-19 patients the following equipment should be
:
N95 Respirators/Masks should be used with the following
:
- During Intubation for presumptive or known cases of COVID-19. All other cases should be intubated utilizing a surgical/face mask.
- During aerosol generating procedures (i.e.: sputum induction and open suctioning
- When collecting oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal specimens on suspected COVID-19 patients
- When assessing patients in the outdoor tent treatment area
CLICK HERE
for the full updated PPE/Isolation guidance.
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Are You Under Quarantine?
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If you are
presently under quarantine
, please contact the
Medical Staff Office
at
[email protected]
or
(732) 937-8767
.
Providers under quarantine should
contact RWJUH Corporate Care/Employee Health
for
clearance to return
to work. You may also need clearance from your employer.
Please
provide documentation to the Medical Staff Office
of your clearance to return to work.
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In addition to being a closed service,
SBMU
is a
closed unit
for the protection of our patients and providers.
Please do not enter SBMU
unless asked or consulted by the
COVID-19 Hospitalist
team.
This is both for
your protection
- limiting your risk of exposure to the virus - and in the interest of
high quality patient care
, keeping the patients treatment limited to teams that are trained and gaining expertise in COVID-19.
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Every weekday morning, a
video briefing
by
Dr. Jim Salwitz
will be released, providing an update on COVID-19 activity at RWJUH and the implementation of the hospital's action plan.
Monday's special guest will be RWJUH President & CEO John Gantner.
BOOKMARK THIS PAGE
and check daily for updates.
New briefings will be posted at approximately 10:00 AM.
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We have received notices from our blood suppliers regarding the
tremendous strain COVID-19 has placed on blood supply
. Recommendations from
RWJBH’s Blood Management Program
are as follows:
- Strict adherence to the recommended transfusions triggers for RBCs:
- 7g/dL for stable, non-bleeding patients (focus on entire clinical picture, symptoms not just a numbers)
- 8g/dL for patient with cardiovascular disease
- Single unit transfusion – RBCs and platelets (MUST reassess before ordering a second unit)
- Surgical cases – anticipated blood loss ≥500cc implement cell saver with the requirement to spin down everything collected in reservoir and give back to the patient in order to reduce the need for banked blood
- Minimize serial lab draws – focus on draws that are necessary (keep the blood in the patient)
- ICU/CTICU and CCU – ensure utilization of VAMP (Venous Arterial blood Management Protection) systems to re-infuse excess blood not needed when drawing blood sample for testing
--Blood Donations Accepted--
Your help to encourage healthy people to
donate blood and platelets
is requested at this time. Our
RWJUH Blood Services
staff is working very hard to continue to provide services throughout this unprecedented time. Our goal is to maintain a safe and
adequate
supply for our patients in need!
Please have interested and potential donors access our appointment portal at
rwjuhdonorclub.org
or call
732-235-8100 x221
.
Starting next week, RWJUH is partnering with the Embrace Kids Foundation to turn their New Brunswick facility into a donation center.
CLICK HERE
for more details.
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- The RWJUH OR has cancelled 330+ elective procedures to date. We are permitting only essential procedures to ensure the hospital has adequate resources for this COVID-19 outbreak. CMS and ACS both advise to cancel all elective procedures.
- At the current time, due to a shortage in swabs and viral transport medium, RWJUH is only taking swabs from patients who are previously approved to be tested. Additionally, in the interest of conserving swabs and viral transport medium for patients requiring COVID-19 testing, please do not order any Respiratory Virus Panels (RVPs) until further notice.
- NJ's first drive-thru testing facility opened Friday in Bergen County, and has quickly reached capacity each day. A drive-thru testing facility at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Monmouth County is currently scheduled to open on Monday.
- Additionally, the IP team continues to assess guidance regarding quarantining during this time. The latest guidance/policy change keeps RWJBH employees at work after an exposure as long as there is no evidence of even mild symptoms. Exposed staff will wear a surgical mask for 14 days. As of now, a return to work may be allowed after 7 days of improving respiratory symptoms IF the COVID-positive patient is afebrile for 72 hours, without the need for medication. CLICK HERE to read the RWJBH Return to Work Policy.
- Please ensure your ID is visible at all times. RWJUH continues to evaluate campus entrance points to ensure the safety of our patients, clinicians and staff.
- Leaders at Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital continue finalizing plans to cohort all pediatric patients with respiratory illness, including COVID 19-positive patients and PUIs.
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Additional Useful Resources
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Previous RWJUH COVID-19 Updates:
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