Abstract
Background: A comprehensive response to the unprecedented SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) challenges for public health and its impact on radiation oncology patients and personnel for resilience and adaptability is presented. Methods: The general recommendations included working remotely when feasible, implementation of screening/safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines, social distancing, regular cleaning of treatment environment, and testing for high-risk patients/procedures. All teaching conferences, tumor boards, and weekly chart rounds were conducted using a virtual platform. Additionally, specific recommendations were given to each section to ensure proper patient treatments. The impact of these measures, especially adaptability and resilience, were evaluated through specific questionnaire surveys. Results: These comprehensive COVID-19-related measures resulted in most staff expressing a consistent level of satisfaction in regard to personal safety, maintaining a safe work environment, continuing quality patient care, and continuing educational activities during the pandemic. There was a significant reduction in patient treatments and on-site patient visits with an appreciable increase in the number of telemedicine e-visits. Conclusions: Survey results demonstrated substantial adaptability and resilience, including in the rapid recovery of departmental activities during the reactivation phase. In the event of a future public health emergency, the measures implemented may be adopted with good outcomes by radiation oncology departments across the globe.
Highlights
About a century ago, the influenza pandemic of 1918 (“the Spanish Flu”) infected nearly half a billion and killed nearly 50 million people worldwide [1]
Our study describes the comprehensive response undertaken by radiation oncology staff in the face of COVID-19 at an academic institution in the United States, seeks to understand the impact on personnel and procedures, and demonstrates the adaptability and resilience noted following implementation of mitigating measures on the face of the COVID-19 pandemic
Laboratory research was halted during the COVID-19 period except data analyses, computational work, maintenance of cell lines, and freezer stocks; Research staff were instructed to stay at home; Computational research support was available to staff and faculty
Summary
The influenza pandemic of 1918 (“the Spanish Flu”) infected nearly half a billion and killed nearly 50 million people worldwide [1]. Surgeons were forced to shift from patient-centric ethics to public health ethics This forced them to alter surgical procedures, limiting the pipeline for radiation patients. Barcellini et al [22] provided a new normal with guidelines for social distancing, infection presentation, and options for radiation treatment during COVID-19. Most of the COVID-19 literature deals with managing patients, and none of them provide meaningful data on the state of staff In this context, our study describes the comprehensive response undertaken by radiation oncology staff in the face of COVID-19 at an academic institution in the United States, seeks to understand the impact on personnel and procedures, and demonstrates the adaptability and resilience noted following implementation of mitigating measures on the face of the COVID-19 pandemic
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
