A Surgical PACU in Queens New York that was converted to an COVID-19 ICU during the Pandemic...The PACU Vs. the Pandemic

Lecture Summary: St Johns Episcopal Hospital is a 257 bed urban community hospital in Queens that is home to 8 residency programs and a medical school clinical training program. SJEH was the first hospital in Queens to have a confirmed case of COVID-19. As the number of cases grew, New York State mandated that hospitals increase ICU bed capacity by 50%. The standard ICU capacity of SJEH is 16 beds. An ad-hoc intensive care unit (termed the COVID-19 PACU ICU) was created in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) to be staffed by surgical residents, two of whom were fellowship trained in critical care, and a board certified surgical critical care attending. I am just planning on discussing our institution experience and our patient population as well as our treatment and outcomes.