Coronavirus COVID-19: Protecting & Enabling Health Care Workers
See below for the latest information about how hospital and health system leaders can work to protect their health care staff and what individual should know during the COVID-19 pandemic. For a comprehensive catalog of COVID-19 resources, visit the AHA's Updates and Resources on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage.
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Maternal and Child Health During COVID-19
March 5, 2021
To help hospitals and health systems address maternal and neonatal health during this public crisis, the AHA has assembled resources from across the field that you may find useful as you provide safe and high-quality care to mothers and babies during this time.
AHA Resource: Everyday Innovations for Managing COVID-19
May 4, 2020
A nurse anesthetist shares some of her commonsense lessons learned for managing the care of complex COVID-19 patients, including tips on how to conserve PPE, create innovative teams, save time and more.
AHA Resource: COVID-19 — Proactive Conversations that Support Providers and Patients
April 28, 2020
For frontline and registration staff: be sure to initiate these discussions with all patients at the time of registration, admission or in the event of care escalation. Includes scripts for confirming communication and language preference, determining contacts and addressing options for advance directives.
AHA COVID-19 Resource: Checklist for Discharging Patients with COVID-19
March 31
Use this document to guide health care regarding the decision to discontinue transmission-based precautions and discharging hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The checklist can guide the considerations for both actions.
AHA Resource: Proactive Care Planning and Respecting the Patient and Family Choices
May 14, 2020
Proactive planning provides clinical teams a clear plan detailing what matters most to each patient and honors the preferences of the patient and family. This scripting tool helps care teams proactively ask patients about the type of care they prefer, should they become severely ill, helps address their uncertainty as well as that of their family members.
AHA Resource: Addressing Emotions on the Front Lines
May 26, 2020
This resource identifies techniques for front-line providers to use when patients are experiencing increased emotion, worry or frustration. It provides scripted techniques to address emotions, build trusting relationships and diffuse conflicts.
AHA Resource: COVID-19 Senior Care Compendium
June 2, 2020
Adults 65 and older face a greater risk for infection and death from COVID-19. This compendium includes resources from numerous organizations that care for seniors in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living centers, at home and other settings.
AHA Resource: Post-Acute Experiences and Lessons Learned During COVID-19
June 2, 2020
This report summarizes a May 7 webinar on post-acute care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by Maureen Banks, COO and CNO of Spaulding Rehabilitation Network in Boston and David Mendelson, MD, associate chief of medicine from Highland Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. , the webinar and report cover management of post-acute services, challenges and mitigation strategies identified during the pandemic and lessons learned in these areas.
The latest on how COVID-19 spreads, how you can protect yourself, cleaning and disinfection procedures, and when to contact occupational health services
To aid healthcare professionals and hospitals, CDC has developed two checklists that identify key actions that can be taken now to enhance preparedness for potential or confirmed patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
CDC Resource: Evaluating and Reporting Persons Under Investigation (PUI)
Criteria to guide evaluation of persons of interest for COVID-19 as well as recommendations for reporting and testing.
NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines
May 4, 2020
The guidelines inform clinicians on how to care for patients with COVID-19 and are updated frequently as published data and other authoritative information becomes available. Recommendations in the guidelines are based on scientific evidence and expert opinion. Each recommendation includes a letter rating that indicates the strength of the recommendation and a Roman numeral that indicates the quality of the evidence that supports the recommendation.
A compendium of resources including preparation and patient handling checklists, equipment and alternative supplier lists.
These CDC guidelines offer tips, links and essential information to improve safety during the COVID-19 outbreak.
CDC Interim Guidelines on Infection Prevention and Control for COVID-19
Updated April 13
CDC has updated PPE recommendations for the care of patients with known or suspected COVID-19 and considerations for designating entire units with dedicated health care personnel for known or suspected COVID-19 patients.
Guidelines: CMS Guidance for Infection Control and Prevention Concerning COVID-19
These CMS guidelines offer FAQs and considerations for patient triage, placement and hospital discharge.
CDC Checklist: COVID-19 Hospital Preparedness Assessment Tool
This CDC checklist highlights important areas for hospitals to ensure staff are trained, equipped and capable of identifying and caring for COVID-19 patients and preventing the spread of COVID-19 within the facility
HHS Checklist: COVID-19 Healthcare Planning Checklist
This HHS checklist can help identify gaps in COVID-19 response plans and includes staff education, monitoring and contingency plans; response configurations; resource monotiling and assistance; and development of deferral and referral plans to adjust with outbreak demands.
The Joint Commission Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources
May 6, 2020
This library of COVID-19 resources from the Joint Commission includes posters, infographics, webinars, videos, and stories from the field.
AHA Advancing Health Podcast: Emory Doctor Discusses Coronavirus Outbreak
February 26
This AHA podcast with Collen Kraft, M.D., of Emory University shares her experience with Ebola, what this new outbreak could look like and how hospitals can prepare.
April 18, 2020
This on-demand webinar, led by Julie Samuelson, RN, MSN, CCMP, Senior Associate, Strategic Consulting for Press Ganey, focuses on how your organization can support communication strategies and optimize compassionate care to patients in isolation during the COVID-19 crisis.
Advisory Firm Resource: How COVID-19 is Shaping the Patient Experience
April 18, 2020
This report analyzes COVID-19-related patient feedback and recommendations on how clinicians can address patients' concerns.
AHA Resource: Maternal and Child Health During COVID-19
May 14, 2020
This AHA resource shares ways hospitals and health systems are caring for mothers and babies during the COVID-19 crisis. The resource examines labor and delivery policies, telehealth options for pre- and postnatal care, breastfeeding, pregnant health care staff and racial disparities. It also features case examples from across the country.
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AHA Resource: Workforce Considerations in the Transition to Recovery
July 1, 2020
This resource addresses workforce strategies and redeploying health care workers, supporting the needs of front-line health care workers, general considerations for reopening facilities, resuming nonemergent surgeries, and contact tracing and testing.
AHA Resource: Caring for Our Health Care Heroes During COVID-19
May 14, 2020
This AHA resource shares ways hospitals and health systems are helping to care for and support the health care workforce during the COVID-19 crisis. The resource focuses on three areas – mental health, food and housing – and features case examples from across the country. It also provides a list of national well-being programs and resources developed for health care workers.
AHA Resource: A playbook on acute care workforce needs post-COVID exposure
April 24, 2020
Adapted from the New Jersey Hospital Association, this playbook from the AHA provides a collection of resources pertaining to current acute care workforce needs post-COVID exposure.
Resource: Tips on Supporting Staff During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living provide tips on how managers and leaders can best support staff during the pandemic and how to identify burnout and traumatic stress. Published March 25, 2020.
AHA Resource: COVID-19 Stress and Coping Resources
This webpage is a compendium of resources for the general public and front-line professionals coping with COVID-19.
AONL Resource: Crisis leadership resource for nurse leaders
This resource from the American Organization for Nursing Leadership was designed to provide nurse leaders, nurses in clinical roles and other clinical leaders with practical tips and effective strategies for addressing challenges unique to a crisis.
Resource: COVID-19: Considerations for Human Resources and Operational Leaders
The American Society for Health Care Human Resources Administrators urges reviewing these HR-related policies, procedures and guidelines during the COVID-19 crisis.
AHA Resource: Healthcare Management Checklist for Teleworking Surge During the COVID-19 Response
March 12, 2020
This AHA checklist is designed as a quick reference for health care enterprise management to consider important factors in a teleworking strategy that minimizes downtime and latency while supporting patient care, operatinal and IT security, and supply chain resilience.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance for identifying which infrastructure sectors and essential workers are needed to maintain services and functions during the COVID-19 pandemic response, including in the health care and public health sector. The guidance is intended for state, local, and industry partners in identifying essential critical infrastructure workers during periods of community restriction, access management, social distancing or closure orders.
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AHA Resource: COVID-19 Models: Forecasting the Pandemic’s Spread and Planning for recovery
September 29 , 2020
This updated report from the AHA provides an overview of links to models that can help organizations address COVID-19 case projections and capacity planning, community vulnerability mapping and case mapping. The report provides links to leading COVID-19 models and provides an overview of each tool’s capabilities and the resource’s methodology documentation. New recovery calculators help estimate how long it will take to complete backlogs of postponed procedures and model-estimated critical care capabilities based on given inputs at baseline.
AHA Webinar: Better enable your care teams during COVID-19
March 18
This AHA Team Training on-demand webinar shares how to use TeamSTEPPS to better enable your care teams during the COVID-19 crisis.
AHA Resource: TeamSTEPPS Video Trainings for the COVID-19 Crisis
May 21, 2020
High-functioning teams are needed now more than ever. AHA Team Training, along with its faculty partners, has produced a free video series “TeamSTEPPS for the COVID-19 Crisis.” The six videos cover issues like task assistance, closed-loop communications, situation monitoring, how to comfortably raise safety concerns and more.
AHA Resource: Addressing Disruptive Behaviors in Healthcare
April 18, 2020
Disruptive behaviors, incivility, and other unprofessional behaviors are common among hospital staff and can be more prevalent in times of stress such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Kyle Rehder, medical director at the Duke Center for Healthcare Safety and Quality presented data demonstrating the impact of such behaviors on workplace culture and patient outcomes and provided practical strategies to curtail these behaviors in your organization.
Compendium: COVID-19 Resources for Hospitalists
The Society of Hospital Medicine website provides COVID-19-related blogs, webinars, a chat room, critical care resources and other tools for hospitalists.
Toolkit: CAPC COVID-19 Response Resources
The Center to Advance Palliative Care has created a new toolkit with input from experts from all care settings to offer resources in important areas for palliative care teams and for any clinicians caring for patients with serious illness. It includes crisis communication and symptom management protocols for all clinicians, and guidance to help palliative care teams address high levels of volume and stress during a crisis.
AHA Webinar: CAPC briefing on COVID-19 impact on patients with serious illness (AHA Member Content)
April 1
This Center to Advance Palliative Care webinar for AHA members discusses tools, skills, and training that hospitals and health systems should deploy immediately to ensure appropriate symptom management and patient communication in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
Advisory Firm Resource: Rapid Task Education for Frontline Staff Throughout COVID-19
April 18, 2020
This on-demand webinar, led by Judy Ewald, Senior Associate, Strategic Consulting for Press Ganey, focuses on how to use high reliability tools and methods to support your organization’s need for rapid education and re-education during the COVID-19 crisis.
Advisory Firm Resource: Leading During COVID-19 from a Position of Strength
April 18, 2020
This on-demand webinar, led by Matt Turner, Senior Associate, Strategic Consulting for Press Ganey, focuses on how to provide visible, vocal, and inspirational leadership during the COVID-19 crisis.
Advisory Firm Resource: Applying High Reliability Principles to COVID-19
April 18, 2020
This on-demand webinar, led by Judy Ewald, Project Consultant for Press Ganey Strategic Consulting, shares critically important high reliability tools for effective communication during the COVID-19 crisis.
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Letter: AHA urges suspension of certain fraud and abuse laws
March 20, 2020
The AHA has urged the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and Department of Justice to temporarily suspend enforcement of both the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute to enable hospitals and health systems to “efficiently meet the demands of the public health crisis and compensate referring physicians and their family members.” AHA also urged that similar action be taken to make clear that hospital support for patients that is necessary in responding to COVID-19 public health crisis will not be subject to sanctions or prosecution.
AHA Advisory: The Joint Commission to Suspend Surveying in Response to COVID-19 Outbreak
March 16, 2020
In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Joint Commission (TJC) said that beginning March 16, it will suspend all TJC surveying. The TJC has notified the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of its decision and CMS has agreed. This AHA advisory shares the latest. March 16, 2020.
AHA Advisory: House Introduces the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201)
March 12, 2020
This new bill includes new occupational safety standards for hospitals and requires public and private health care programs to cover COVID-19 testing at no cost to the patient.
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