As the world writhes in the grip of Covid-19, the epidemic has revealed something majestic and inspiring: millions of health care workers running to where they are needed, on duty, sometimes risking their own lives. I have never before seen such an extensive, voluntary outpouring of medical help at such a global scale.

Intensive care doctors in Seattle connect with intensive care doctors in Wuhan to gather specific intelligence on what the Chinese have learned: details of diagnostic strategies, the physiology of the disease, approaches to managing lung failure, and more. The three-page, single spaced document, full of lessons, circulates immediately and widely through social media platforms, a gem borne of pure, professional commitment. Facebook starts a COVID-19 USA Physician/APP Group on March 13. It has 57,000 members on March 15, and 105,000 on March 18.

The Journal of the American Medical Association, even while moving its staff home for social distancing, sets new records for speeding helpful scientific studies, peer reviewed, onto the web. Knowledge grows. One JAMA paper is by a group of Wuhan physicians reviewing patterns and outcomes for 1099 patients, showing surprisingly high rates of severe illness in younger adults. Another is an honest account by physicians in Lombardy of both successes and mistakes as they grapple with unprecedented intensive care demands. A list-serve for hospitals started by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement overflows with questions What have you learned about setting up drive-by testing? Has anyone found a new source of masks? and instant answers from institutions and clinicians.

One anesthesiologist in Valhalla, N.Y., types in a suggestion: Instead of giving up when the ventilators are all in use, how about asking groups of students or family members who have become immune to the virus to ventilate patients manually, using Ambu bags, in shifts even for days at a time? Clinicians reply, some critical, some supportive, and all trying to find answers.

And city by city, hospitals mobilize creatively to get ready for the possible deluge: bring in retired staff members, train nurses and doctors in real time, share data on supplies around the region, set up special isolation units and scale up capacity by a factor of 100 or 1000. On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York asks for retired medical personnel to join the citys Medical Reserve Corps; 24 hours later, 1000 new volunteers have signed up. Northwell Health, a 23-hospital system in New York City, figures out how to add 1,500 beds, if needed, by repurposing space.

Read the original here:
They Dont Hide From the Coronavirus, They Confront It - The New York Times