“COVID 19 in Review: Lessons Learned” will be presented May 20, sponsored by WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital and Reynolds Memorial Hospital.
Open to healthcare providers, health departments, pre-hospital providers, firefighters and police agencies, along with Emergency Management agencies, the free symposium will be held at the Highlands Conference Center and offer continuing education credits.
Co-chairs of the event are John Sebring, Wheeling Hospital director of Safety, and David Kappel, MD.
“Nobody knew what the next few years would bring when COVID 19 hit in March 2020,” Dr. Kappel said. “While many of us had been trained in mass casualty and/or pandemic simulations, the reality of COVID hit hard. This conference will enable us to share what we thought would happen; what really did happen; and what to do if something similar happens in the future.”
Topics and speakers include:
- Hospital Administrative Overview: Douglass Harrison, President and CEO, Wheeling Hospital/Reynolds Memorial Hospital
- A Look Back: Statistical Overview: David Kappel, MD
- Regional Coordination: Lou Vargo, Director, Ohio County EMA
- Regional Incident Command Challenges: Kelsey Blackburn, Ohio COTS Representative
- Personnel: Vulnerability, Staffing, Fatigue and Burnout: Cindy Polen, Wheeling Hospital Nurse Manager, COVID unit
- Corporate Health/Infection Control: Clark Milton, MD, Wheeling Hospital Corporate Health Director
- Critical Supply Chain Issues: Iain Lake, WVU Regional Director, Supply Chain Operations
- Incident Command Technology: Wheeling Fire Chief Jim Blazier
- Crisis Standard of Care: David Kappel, MD
- Emergency Department: Heather Merkel, Wheeling Hospital Director, ER
- Surgical Services Challenges: Kareen Simon, Wheeling Hospital Vice President/COO; Kathy Shumate, RN Pre-Op
- Intensive Care/Critical Care Challenges: Bryan Woodford, Wheeling Hospital Director, Critical Care
- Alternate Care Sites: Lou Vargo, Director, Ohio County EMA
- Quality Care Reporting in a Pandemic: Heidi Porter, Wheeling Hospital VP, Quality and Regulatory Affairs
Kappel said, “We will explore our reactions to the pandemic, our decisions and how to apply what was learned in any such future situations.”
The conference will be livestreamed on Facebook, but contact hours are only available for in-person attendance. Hours are 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. Lunch will be provided.
For more information, or to register, call Sebring at 304-243-3007.