Actions taken by US hospitals to prepare for increased demand for intensive care during the first wave of COVID-19: A national survey

ABSTRACT Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic placed considerable strain on critical care resources. How United States (U.S.) hospitals responded to this crisis is unknown. Research question What actions did U.S. hospitals take to prepare for a potential surge in demand for critical care services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic? Study design and methods From September to November 2020 we surveyed the chief nursing officers of a representative sample of U.S. hospitals regarding organizational actions taken to increase or maintain critical care capacity during the pandemic. We calculated weighted proportions of hospitals for each potential action in order to create estimates across the entire population of U.S. hospitals, accounting for both the sampling strategy and non-response. We also examined whether the types of actions taken varied by the cumulative regional incidence of COVID-19 cases. Results We received responses from 169 of 540 surveyed U.S. hospitals (response rate: 31.3%). Almost all hospitals canceled or postponed elective surgeries (96.7%) and non-surgical procedures (94.8%). Few hospitals created new medical units in areas not typically dedicated to health care (12.9%), and almost none adopted triage protocols (5.6%) or protocols to connect multiple patients to a single ventilator (4.8%). Actions to increase or preserve intensive care unit (ICU) staff, including use of ICU telemedicine, were highly variable, without any single dominant strategy. Hospitals experiencing higher incidence of COVID-19 did not consistently take different actions compared to hospitals facing lower incidence. Interpretation Responses of hospitals to the mass need for critical care services due to the COVID-19 pandemic were highly variable. Most hospitals canceled procedures to preserve ICU capacity and scaled up ICU capacity using existing clinical space and staffing. Future work linking hospital response to patient outcomes can inform planning for additional surges of this pandemic or other events in the future.