Presenter Information

Anna Ponder, LibertyUniversityFollow

Category

Oral - Theoretical Proposal

Description

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the infective and unreasonable standards of US hospital policy, funding, and staffing. During the initial wave of COVID-19 cases in 2020, medical supplies and standard medication prices increased, meanwhile hospital and governmental funding was allocated toward extra staffing and increased patient care spaces, leading to massive lapses in available resources for sick patients. Post-COVID-19, hospital staffing is down, and burnout rates are increasing. Furthermore, preexisting health disparities were heightened during COVID-19 and left those of minority races or lower socioeconomic classes at higher risk of complications and death from the disease. In total, the ineffective problem-solving used by healthcare bodies during the pandemic is still affecting hospitals today. The statistics from COVID-19 call attention to the lack of hospital preparedness to handle a major disease outbreak or disaster. There must be changes made in current hospital policy, staffing, and financial allocation to be prepared for future disasters; new research must be aimed at reforming healthcare to prevent health inequality, an increased death toll, and a devastatingly high cost of care in future disease outbreaks or disasters. In this research project, evidence is collected from multiple hospitals and countries to build a framework for future applied research, where new theories and practices can be tested and implemented into hospital policy to prevent the complications seen during COVID-19. The presentation will summarize the effects of COVID-19 on US hospitals to emphasize the problem, then synthesize research on the benefits of hospital reform exemplified in hospitals across the world; examples of healthcare reform seen after COVID-19 include tiered staffing models, changes in short-term emergent and operational policies, enactment of effective information dissemination systems, and adjustment of hospital policy for resource allocation. Research is the first step towards effective hospital change in preparation for future pandemics or country-wide disasters.

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Undergraduate - 3rd Place Award Winner

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Apr 15th, 12:00 PM

Navigating the Pandemic: Hospital Resource Allocation and Preparedness During the Next COVID-19

Oral - Theoretical Proposal

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the infective and unreasonable standards of US hospital policy, funding, and staffing. During the initial wave of COVID-19 cases in 2020, medical supplies and standard medication prices increased, meanwhile hospital and governmental funding was allocated toward extra staffing and increased patient care spaces, leading to massive lapses in available resources for sick patients. Post-COVID-19, hospital staffing is down, and burnout rates are increasing. Furthermore, preexisting health disparities were heightened during COVID-19 and left those of minority races or lower socioeconomic classes at higher risk of complications and death from the disease. In total, the ineffective problem-solving used by healthcare bodies during the pandemic is still affecting hospitals today. The statistics from COVID-19 call attention to the lack of hospital preparedness to handle a major disease outbreak or disaster. There must be changes made in current hospital policy, staffing, and financial allocation to be prepared for future disasters; new research must be aimed at reforming healthcare to prevent health inequality, an increased death toll, and a devastatingly high cost of care in future disease outbreaks or disasters. In this research project, evidence is collected from multiple hospitals and countries to build a framework for future applied research, where new theories and practices can be tested and implemented into hospital policy to prevent the complications seen during COVID-19. The presentation will summarize the effects of COVID-19 on US hospitals to emphasize the problem, then synthesize research on the benefits of hospital reform exemplified in hospitals across the world; examples of healthcare reform seen after COVID-19 include tiered staffing models, changes in short-term emergent and operational policies, enactment of effective information dissemination systems, and adjustment of hospital policy for resource allocation. Research is the first step towards effective hospital change in preparation for future pandemics or country-wide disasters.

 

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