Lessons from a COVID-19 hospital, Republic of Korea

Objective To document the experiences of converting a general hospital to a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) designated hospital during an outbreak in Daegu, Republic of Korea. Methods The hospital management formed an emergency task force team, whose role was to organize the COVID-19 hospital. The task force used different collaborative channels to redistribute resources and expertise to the hospital. Leading doctors from the departments of infectious diseases, critical care and pulmonology developed standardized guidelines for treatment coherence. Nurses from the infection control team provided regular training on donning and doffing of personal protective equipment and basic safety measures. Findings Keimyung University Daegu Dongsan hospital became a red zone hospital for COVID-19 patients on 21 February 2020. As of 29 June 2020, 1048 COVID-19 patients had been admitted to the hospital, of which 22 patients died and five patients were still being treated in the recovery ward. A total of 906 health-care personnel worked in the designated hospital, of whom 402 were regular hospital staff and 504 were dispatched health-care workers. Of these health-care workers, only one dispatched nurse acquired COVID-19. On June 15, the hospital management and Daegu city government decided to reconvert the main building to a general hospital for non-COVID-19 patients, while keeping the additional negative pressure rooms available, in case of resurgence of the disease. Conclusion Centralized coordination in frontline hospital operation, staff management, and patient treatment and placement allowed for successful pooling and utilization of medical resources and manpower during the COVID-19 outbreak.