Athletic Trainers step in during Nationwide Crisis
NYC Health & Hospitals
Background
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the United States. They provide inpatient, outpatient, and home-based services to over 1.4 million New Yorkers every year in more than 70 locations across New York City’s five boroughs.
When the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged New York City, NYC Health + Hospitals bore the brunt of the 56,002 COVID-19 related hospitalizations. To manage patient-load in the hospitals and free up beds, they converted hotels into step-down units for patients recovering from COVID-19.
CHALLENGE
With every available nurse and doctor working around the clock in hospitals and emergency rooms, NYC Health + Hospitals had a challenge.
They needed to find medical professionals skilled in patient care, clinical diagnosis, and with the ability to carryout treatment plans. Those medical professionals also needed to be well versed in HIPAA compliance rules to staff the hotel step-down units.
The conditions on the ground were changing by the minute. The rapid transmission of the disease made it nearly impossible to forecast exactly how many medical professionals would be needed at the hotel-hospitals on a daily basis.
So, while they didn’t know how many medical professionals they needed, the just knew that they needed them quickly.
Solution
The Go4 on-demand Athletic Trainer staffing platform.
Athletic Trainers are health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to optimize patient activity and participation in athletics, work and life. The practice of athletic training encompasses the prevention, examination and diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of emergent, acute, subacute, and chronic conditions. Athletic Trainers are also well versed and trained in HIPPA compliance.
The Go4 platform gave New York Health + Hospitals access to thousands of athletic trainers in New York state. It also provided the ability to scale with demand in real-time. Based on patient-load at the at the hotel step-down units, they were able to add or release staff on a daily basis.
The engagement lasted from April through July 2020. Having a deep bench of athletic trainers meant a constant supply of athletic trainers were able to rotate through shifts. This rotation prevented the athletic trainers on staff from burnt out while ensuring that patients were able to receive the care and supervision they needed.