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SARS assessment clinic: a rapid response to an infectious outbreak

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Tim Rutledge ,
Rick Penciner  and
Karyn Popovich
Tim Rutledge*
Affiliation:
Emergency Services, North York General Hospital, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto
Rick Penciner
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, North York General Hospital; Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto
Karyn Popovich
Affiliation:
Emergency Services, North York General Hospital, Toronto
*
North York General Hospital, 4001 Leslie St., Ste. 16, Toronto ON M2K 1E1; trutledg@nygh.on.ca

Abstract

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The Toronto SARS outbreak began in February 2003 and lasted more than 16 weeks. The city and its health care system faced enormous challenges in responding to this new infectious disease, learning about its transmission, diagnosis and treatment, in containing its spread and in coping with its socioeconomic impact. As the site of a significant cluster of cases in the second wave of the outbreak, North York General Hospital (NYGH) quickly adapted many components of its operations, focusing on the fight against SARS. In order to assess potential SARS cases in a safe, efficient and effective manner, NYGH established a SARS assessment clinic. We describe the design features, construction, layout and operation of this clinic. This type of clinic can be rapidly deployed and may be of great value during future infectious outbreaks, including pandemic influenza.

Keywords

severe acute respiratory syndromeSARSoutbreakassessment clinic
Type
ED Administration • L’administration de la MU
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , May 2005 , pp. 162 - 167
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2005

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