Kirkland, Washington was the first U.S. city with reports of a large-scale COVID-19 outbreak. In this special edition of ERcast, Dr. Patrick Reinfried, an emergency physician practicing at Kirkland’s Evergreen Hospital, gives a first hand account of what happened in his community, how his hospital has responded, and lessons learned.

 

In this episode:

• Difficult decisions that might not have been made before the outbreak
• Testing
• What factors go into deciding admission vs. discharge
• How to limit exposure to COVID patients and save PPE
• Organizing the emergency department with an area dedicated to fever and respiratory illness
• Patient flow
• Utility of BiPAP vs intubation
• Lab ordering
• X-rays
• Psychological impact.