The surgeon general encouraged health systems to work together in an effort to resupply facilities experiencing a higher number of COVID-19 cases during the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) town hall, on Thursday, March 26.
Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, the U.S. surgeon general and a vice admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, addressed participants about the disparate supply needs of hospitals across the nation. He called on all institutions to consider their supplies and the needs of those hospitals in areas with a higher burden of COVID-19 cases. He said the materials needed are available, but much of the supply is being misappropriated at the moment.
Dr. Adams also said they are seeing a misalignment of health care staff as well as the resources, and that regional and nationwide collaboration among institutions would be needed to solve these problems. He emphasized the need to discontinue any elective surgeries to avoid wasting resources that could be used toward turning the tide on the pandemic.
The ASA held its second online conference to provide updates on the current positions for best practices in treating patients with COVID-19, including proper use of anesthesia machines as ventilators. Mary Dale Peterson, MD, the president of the ASA, opened the session with a charge to those listening.
“This is my call to action to you tonight,” Dr. Peterson said. “You can make a difference. You can save lives.”
The conference covered a range of recommendations from repurposing anesthesia machines as ventilators to converting ORs to ICUs, in collaboration with critical care teams.
—Michael DePeau-Wilson
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