On May 28, a new unit opened within the University of Utah Hospital that is customized and designed specifically to treat COVID-19 patients. Known as the B-50 COVID-19 Unit, this area is a collaboration among several teams at U of U Health who have worked tirelessly to create a one-of-a-kind space that allows for the proper treatment of COVID-19 patients, while preserving existing hospital capacity for other patient needs.
Speaking about the uniqueness of this space at a recent Management Council livestream, senior nursing director Colleen Connelly said, “We don’t have a unit like this. We don’t have a unit that combines acute care and ICU together and so we’ve learned a lot of things. It definitely takes a village and this has taken our entire organization to get this open.”
To watch Connelly’s presentation during this livestream, click here.
The unit has been established in Area B-50 of the Main Hospital, which previously housed the Surgical Specialty and Transplant Unit (SSTU). Because this is historically a high-traffic area of the hospital for faculty and staff, a video has been created that shows how staff should access the area and highlights the areas where the unit is no longer accessible. To watch the video, click here.
For the opening of the unit, a series of videos have been created to showcase proper donning and doffing of PPE for faculty and staff.