At the height of New York’s COVID-19 outbreak, a Long Island hospital was filled with patients. Their ambulatory surgery check-in area became an ICU. There were floors devoted just to virus patients. Some floors became comingled spaces, where one side of the floor was assigned to virus patients, and patients being treated for other concerns stayed in rooms on the opposite side.
During this time, the ISS Solutions Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) team that provides HTM services to the hospital worked overtime. The team of four worked 12-hour days and came in on Saturdays to set up equipment that was being driven in by the truckload.
The HTM team worked on additional ventilators, beds, infusion and suction pumps, defibrators, ultrasound machines, blenders and humidifiers. Regular repair and maintenance requests from the hospital also continued to come in, requiring the team to find a way to balance the demand. At times, the team had to go into virus patient areas to service equipment, requiring the donning of personal protective equipment and the practice of social distancing.
On one of the busiest days, the HTM team checked in 40 ventilators. Each check-in requires the ventilator to be unwrapped, cleaned, and tested, taking about 15 to 20 minutes to go through the process. Medical staff stood in-line to grab the next available ventilator, to take immediately to a patient in need. Overall, checking in 40 ventilators required 10 to 13 hours of work, not including breaks.
“In the beginning, it was very tough,” said Glenn H., ISS Solutions Site Coordinator.
Unfortunately, because of the nature and severity of the coronavirus, there were many patients that did not recover. At one point, the hospital brought in refrigerated trucks for the overflow of the deceased. This was difficult for the HTM team to witness. However, the team, knowing how important their work was, tried to keep each other’s spirits up. They were helped by words of appreciation from the medical staff, for the HTM team’s speedy-yet-consistent work on equipment.
Finally, the wave of virus patients began to diminish in May. Though the hospital is still currently treating patients for the virus, the extra work has slowed down. And the HTM team is bolstered when they hear the song “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles played over the loudspeaker. When the song is played, it means that a former virus patient has been discharged and is going home.
“I saw the greatness in my staff,” said Glenn. “This came along, and they proved more than up to the challenge.”
