Lifeline Transport Marks COVID-19 Milestone: 1,000 Patient Transports with Zero Staff Transmissions
Johns Hopkins Lifeline critical care transport team members prepare to enter a patient room at Howard County General Hospital. As of April 22, the team had already transported 481 patients who were either known to be COVID-19-positive or were under investigation for the disease. (Photo by Keith Weller)
Johns Hopkins Lifeline transport team recently surpassed a significant patient and staff safety milestone. On Aug. 9, the team transported its 1,000th patient who was either known to have COVID-19 or who was under investigation for the disease. The statistic combines transports by air, by ground ambulance between member hospitals, and by in-house transport on the East Baltimore campus. The team’s first COVID-19 transport took place Feb. 29.
“Most remarkable is not simply the volume of transports in a relatively short time-frame, but also the fact that we have had ZERO staff conversions — meaning no staff members have contracted COVID-19 during their patient interactions,” says Heidi Hubble, M.H.A., director of operations for Johns Hopkins Lifeline critical care transportation. “This means that our infection control procedures and the model that we are using, which includes a transport safety officer, is successful.”
The work has been challenging, says Hubble. “We were developing the safety officer role and training staff simultaneously in the height of the COVID-19 peak,” she says. “To reach this point where we can look back and say definitively that we were able to keep the staff safe makes it all worth it.”
Learn more: Coronavirus Transport: Johns Hopkins Lifeline Team Focuses on Safety for Patients and Staff Members