The Record Special Sections Health Quarterly 04-26-2020 | Page 2

2 ❚ SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020 ❚ THE RECORD
HEALTH QUARTERLY / ADVERTISING SECTION
COVER STORY
Hospitals Respond to Patients and Their Families
mation in hopes of stopping the spread and
saving lives. “It’s much too early to know
Unlike other telemedicine programs,
if these drugs are an effective therapy,
you do not need to enroll in any special
but we are seeing good signs and patient
service or purchase a subscription. Payment
improvement,” said Adam Jarrett, MD,
methods are the same as your usual office
chief medical officer. “We are hopeful.”
copayment visits, coinsurance and any
HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY
deductible. Englewood Health Physician
MEDICAL CENTER
Network is also accepting new patients.
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented
HOLY NAME MEDICAL CENTER
many challenges to patient care.
Holy Name Medical Center — the
“Delivering on the promise of its mis-
treatment epicenter of New Jersey’s
sion to the community, researchers at
Coronavirus outbreak — is conducting trials Hackensack Meridian Health have started
of two drugs to treat the novel virus. The
delivering a new promising treatment – the
hospital has been selected to participate
antibodies from COVID-19 survivors’ plasma
in a clinical study for the drug Kevzara,
– to sick patients,” said Mark Sparta, FACHE,
a class of Interleukin-6 blocker, that is
president and chief hospital executive of
FDA approved to treat active rheumatoid
Hackensack University Medical Center.
arthritis. There is anecdotal evidence that
The new treatment follows the hospital’s
the drug may help patients infected with
breakthrough in diagnostic testing last month
COVID-19, working to decrease the respira-
– the implementing of a same-day test for
tory inflammation in the lungs that occurs
COVID-19 developed by researchers at the
in some patients. Right now, four out of five
Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery
patients who are at a certain stage of infec-
and Innovation. The hospital has triaged and
tion are getting the drug. While it is too early
treated more than 1,700 patients amid one of
to make scientific conclusions, the Teaneck-
the nation’s major pandemic hot spots.
based hospital’s medical team believes they
“It allowed Hackensack University Medical
are getting a good clinical response seeing
Center and other facilities within our net-
improved oxygenation and lower fever.
work to be able to test acute patients, and so
be able to devise
appropriate treat-
ment and clinical
placements within
our network,”
said Sparta, who
also serves as
executive vice
president of
Population Health
for Hackensack
Meridian Health.”
Because
Hackensack
Meridian Health
provides care to
a geographic area
that stretches from
PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. JOSEPH HEALTH north to south, the
needs of the com-
Staff members celebrate the discharge of Dr. James Pruden, an
munity were met,
Emergency Medicine physician with St. Joseph’s Health, who was
Sparta added.
one of the first to contract coronavirus in New Jersey.
Leveraging
Independently from the study, Holy
mobile technology has also played a role
Name Medical Center is testing the drug
in the pandemic. “Early on in this crisis,
Actemra, another Interleukin-6 inhibitor,
we adopted the recommendation from a
that has already been approved in China
number of agencies that we restrict visitors
for the treatment of patients infected with
with only extreme exceptions,” Sparta said.
the novel coronavirus disease. Although
“We have leveraged technology during this
devoid of peer-reviewed studies, sufficient
time. In order to keep communication lines
information or large enough numbers to
open, we have either utilized the FaceTime
make good scientific conclusions, doctors
of a patient’s iPhone, or distributed iPads
are getting positive results. Medical profes- so that patients could communicate with
sionals are coming together to share infor-
their families, and hopefully reduce anxiety.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Dr. Meghan Kaumaya, a hematologist/oncologist, is one of the doctors in
the Englewood Health Physician Network who are now offering video visits.
ST. JOSEPH’S HEALTH
St. Joseph’s Health has been on the
frontlines of the Coronavirus pandemic since
the outbreak, treating hundreds of patients
around the clock. Earlier this month, there
was a huge sign of hope and inspiration for
the employees of St. Joseph’s and the com-
munity, as one of their own beat the illness
and left the hospital.
Dr. James Pruden, an Emergency
Medicine physician with St. Joseph’s for
over three decades, was one of the first to
contract the virus in New Jersey and spent
weeks fighting for his life. He overcame the
odds and was discharged on April 8.
As Dr. Pruden was escorted out of the
hospital, hundreds of staff members lined
the lobby to celebrate his recovery and
to remind each other of the tremendous
impact they are having on the community
during this pandemic. “Your care made the
difference for me and enabled me to beat
this virus,” said Dr. Pruden about his stay
in the hospital. “I implore every healthcare
worker across New Jersey to keep the faith
and stay strong. You are truly our heroes.”
Governor Phil Murphy noted Dr. Pruden’s
recovery at the COVID-19 NJ State Briefing
on April 9, saying, “Pruden’s strength and per-
severance in the face of everything should
be all we need to find our inner strength to
power through this emergency and come out
stronger and ready for the next day.”
VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM
Employees and management at
The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood are
thinking outside the box to ensure an
adequate supply of personal protective
equipment and proper space to provide
care for patients with COVID-19 and
enough supplies, particularly generators.
n The departments of Facilities and
Engineering converted an entire unit
into negative pressure rooms, an
isolation technique that prevents cross-
contamination from room to room.
n The Department of Engineering
also installed a system of holes in the
walls of the rooms of patients with
COVID-19 that allow IV tubing to be run
outside the room to the hallway. Having
the IV pumps outside allows the nursing
staff to administer fluids and medica-
tions without repeatedly entering the
room, decreasing the risk for contami-
nation and the use of personal protec-
tive equipment that must be donned
each time a care provider enters the
room of a COVID-19 patient.
n One of Valley’s anesthesiologists
picked up PVC piping at Home Depot
to see if two people could be safely and
effectively treated on one ventilator if
the hospital runs short of them.
n As a result of a shortage of disposable
gowns, hospital staff are laundering 1,000 to
2,000 reusable gowns a night. Each morning,
staff not working on the patient care units are
redeployed to fold the gowns for distribution
on the units. The laundering sometimes
results in small tears and other staff have
volunteered to stich and darn the gowns.
Valley Hospital Foundation has taken
the lead in coordinating offers of support
from the community. To learn more, visit
ValleyHospitalFoundation.org.