Assessing Preparedness for COVID-19 Outbreak

This is a podcast episode titled, Assessing Preparedness for COVID-19 Outbreak. The summary for this episode is: <p>In this episode, we're talking about COVID-19, the disease caused by a novel coronavirus that originated in the Chinese city Wuhan. Now designated a public health emergency by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, as of the time of this recording, the virus has been associated with tens of thousands of cases and more than two thousand deaths.</p> <p>We'll discuss the virus in the context of outbreak preparedness more broadly and what healthcare providers can do next. For healthcare professionals, the thought of being unprepared or under-prepared for coronavirus, or another infectious disease outbreak as the flu, is alarming.</p> <p>To help healthcare organizations protect workers as well as patients, ECRI has developed the <a href= "https://www.ecri.org/coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak-preparedness-center"> COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Outbreak Preparedness Center</a> with links to free resources and guidance from U.S. and international healthcare organizations. You can also find a <a href= "https://www.ecri.org/components/HRC/Pages/Disaster-Drill-Summary.aspx"> case study of one hospital's emergency drill</a>, which included more than 50 members of the local community.</p>