Emergency services and Urgent Care centers at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania will remain open, although access to clinical services, imaging and laboratories will be limited. The University of Pennsylvania Health System has long played an integral role in fostering a vibrant educational environment in medicine through our world-renowned residency and fellowship programs and our role as a leading nonprofit health system and academic center. We remain fully committed to supporting the medical education enterprise, our clinical partners and students. Our faculty, clinical staff and students are working together to coordinate their efforts to manage the current circumstances and preserve the learning environment for students, residents, fellows and staff. Additional resources The resources below will provide additional information for our clinical colleagues, trainees and students. We will continue to update our web site with new information and directives. Department of Radiology The department will meet this afternoon to explore options for preserving the clinical services of residents and fellows. The department has been planning to close the hospitals from 5:00-9:00 pm in the evenings for more than a year. The closure would continue during COVID-19, especially given that some residents and fellows are in the ER or urgent care centers and are not in contact with patients. While residents and fellows have been planning with their supervisors for how best to handle such an event, no one anticipated something as severe as this virus. Faculty support from the Penn Medicine faculty will be significant and helpful to residents. Department of Medicine Many Penn Medicine physicians are involved with global health endeavors. Those endeavors have been impacted by travel bans, flight and border restrictions. The potential risk to these travelers needs to be weighed against our ability to take care of the local patients who depend on us. We are committed to following recommendations of our medical and public health colleagues, ensuring an equitable approach to our obligations and privileges. We do not want our colleagues in the Department of Medicine to be unfairly impacted by global health obligations. It is the policy of Penn Medicine and the University to ensure all obligations and privileges are considered and fairly applied. Faculty/Staff: A survey will be used to determine the percentage of faculty and staff that may be quarantined. Please fill out the survey. This is not an assessment of employees’ health; this is simply a method for us to make sure that we can protect you, and not expose others to exposure. However, it is unlikely that individuals will be quarantined. Department of Pediatrics Pediatric residents will continue to be in contact with patients. We have been preparing for this possibility since beginning the academic year and have been on high alert for weeks now. For a few weeks, the division has already had to cancel several outpatient clinic visits, and the last few days have seen a significant increase in phone calls from worried parents. We are in very close contact with the Drexel University College of Medicine, which has had patients with COVID-19 and is continuing to see patients. Our faculty and division leaders have been in communication with the Drexel medical school leadership. We are in the process of determining whether Penn has the resources to support additional inpatient pediatric services. Most of our clinical care is currently provided by faculty with multiple faculty on any given inpatient service. A large percentage of our residents and fellows have not yet been in the hospital. Our clinical staff has also been concerned about the impact of this virus on their ability to deliver care. As the situation develops, we will be able to better understand whether further staffing will be needed, so please be assured that, regardless of any additional supports that we make available, we have an agreement with the hospital that includes 24/7 access to pediatricians for our residents, fellows and staff. You can be confident that we will do everything possible to continue to support the care of your patients. Division of Cardiology With the closure of the hospital at 8:30 p.m., the hospital must cease all cardiology services. There will be no direct contact between patients and patients, as it is standard practice in clinical settings to wear PPE while assessing and monitoring patients who are in potentially contagious states. Department of Emergency Medicine The Department of Emergency Medicine has been planning for a scenario in which the hospital is closed. Penn Medicine has been carefully preparing for the possibility of a surge of patients requiring care in the Emergency Department. The division’s plan relies on faculty to continue with their professional activities, including work with patients at the hospitals and tele-health visits. Doctors will continue to be assigned as needed. While there will be limited access to the hospital, we are working with our colleagues at University Medical Associates (UMA) to implement a robust, regionalized system for responding to patients who come to the Emergency Department. This response plan is based on our understanding of our geographic risk-tolerance and the needs of the community. Our department has designated specific staff who will be assigned to assist in the management of patients. We will continue to follow the recommendations of our medical and public health colleagues. We are deeply concerned about the health and wellbeing of our colleagues, patients and their families. We believe that everyone has a critical role to play in ensuring that we all continue to meet our professional responsibilities. Penn Medicine remains committed to caring for our patients in the community and we will continue to be active partners in the triage and care of patients within the hospitals, hospitals-in-the-home and at the bedside of any patient who is in need of our expertise. We will do our best to find an acceptable balance between the well-being of patients and our ability to practice within our parameters to ensure that we continue to provide care in a safe and effective manner. It is important for you to remember that, despite its best efforts, the COVID-19 pandemic will have an impact on how we care for patients. We are working closely with University of Pennsylvania Health System and Hospital to identify clinical and care resources that we can provide to you. This includes an online toolkit to facilitate triage and care at home. Please use this toolkit if you or your loved one have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. This will help make it easier for your healthcare providers to manage your care at home. The Penn Medicine Health System will continue to follow protocols related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Our clinical services will close to all visitors and will have limited in-person patient visits. A few services may still be available via telephone or video conferencing. If you are scheduled to be seen in the clinic or hospital, we will follow our usual scheduling practices. We understand the emotional impact that the coronavirus is having on our patients and their loved ones. Your family member should be cared for during the pandemic by individuals who understand their needs, and that care can be provided safely at home, in the hospital, or in the care centers as needed. We will continue to support you and your loved ones during this difficult time. The care and compassion we deliver is as important to us as it is to you. Please reach out to our clinical care teams with any questions. We will reach out with more information as we have it, including the ability for patients to reach out to our Penn Medicine COVID-19 Response Line. Office of the Dean for Medical Education The Office of the Dean of Medical Education will coordinate with other departments across campus and will communicate directly with faculty, trainees and staff when they are able to conduct their business remotely. Training and Education To ensure a consistent, optimal educational experience for students, residents, fellows and post-doctoral trainees, the Office of the Dean of Medical Education will develop plans for minimizing disruption to academic activities, including the ability to host online meetings and seminars. To enable training experiences to continue, the Office of the Dean of Medical Education will work with the Office of the Vice Dean for Education and Training to create policies and procedures that support distance learning. Any changes in policies and processes will be communicated as soon as possible. Clinical Informatics, Faculty Development, Technology, Quality and Safety, and Communications The Department of Radiology, Department of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Division of Cardiology will conduct internal assessments to determine the need for additional staff to support a remote clinical learning environment. All of these units have dedicated specialists who have been preparing for the potential remote learning scenarios. We have scheduled additional virtual meetings for faculty to ensure continued learning. The Department of Anesthesiology and Department of Emergency Medicine plan to evaluate a range of solutions for distance learning of the Clinical Skills and Crisis Management Program. In addition, the Department of Radiology is working to ensure quality education and training outcomes during this pandemic and will host webinars for resident and faculty development and continuing education. We will work to maintain an updated list of COVID-19 resources and links to support staff and faculty, as well as resources for our trainees, including those who are caring for patients at home. We encourage you to use these resources to help navigate this difficult time. The Office of the Dean of Medical Education is ready to provide guidance and support. We will remain in communication with you and your supervisors as needed. Thank you for your support and understanding.