During the COVID-19 pandemic, Friends UC supported the health network and the School of Medicine of the Catholic University in their efforts to best manage the health of the population in such difficult times.
Among the many initiatives carried out by the university, Friends UC collaborated with two that had a significant impact: the project “Creation of Pre-hospitalization Services in Primary Care Centers” and the “Telehealth Strategy project in Áncora UC”; both contributed to strengthen the capacity of care and follow-up of COVID-19 patients, with a positive impact on their well-being.
Project «Creation of Pre-hospitalization Services in Primary Care Centers».
The objective was to provide timely and safe care to medium severity COVID-19 patients while their referral to the place where they should be definitively treated is being resolved. Among other activities, a unit was created with six temporary clinical observation beds for stays of between 6 and 72 hours; in addition, permanent care teams were formed comprised of physicians, nurses and nursing technicians. The project provided adequate equipment and clinical material to monitor and treat COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen, a patient transfer system, a patient feeding service, the development of clinical protocols appropriate for this clinical environment, and the implementation of all safety and personal protection measures to prevent the transmission of viruses.
Telehealth strategy at Ancora UC
This project made it possible to implement a new model of care based on telehealth, which allows for greater care and remote communication with regular and COVID-19 patients, in the midst of the health emergency that affected the world.
Thanks to the technology implemented in this new model, it was possible to increase the proportion of remote care in different specialties and disciplines, scheduling of consultations, orientation and delivery of information, follow-up of patients and COVID contacts and support services. This was especially important for vulnerable groups, such as children, patients with chronic illnesses and mental health patients, who had reduced their medical visits for fear of possible contagion or to avoid saturating the national health system.