Three national health care organizations call for centralized coordinated governmental action during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

CHICAGO: Centralized coordinated governmental action is critical during the resurgence of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to three national health care organizations In a joint letter sent November 23 to federal government leaders by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the three organizations call upon the federal government “to act collectively and quickly in support of hospitals and health care providers as they continue to struggle in response to the ongoing pandemic.”

The letter highlights three areas of focus in its call to support health care providers, COVID-19 patients, and their families:

• health care worker well-being and staffing issues
• federally coordinated deployment of supplies medications and vital equipment
• increased communication and vaccine distribution plan transparency

The letter follows the release of updated guidance for health care facilities entitled, “Joint Statement: Roadmap for Maintaining Essential Surgery during COVID-19 Pandemic.” The ACS, AORN, and ASA are among the organizations that contributed to the updated roadmap. The document addresses the dual need to meet health care demands for patients who are hospitalized with COVID-19 as well as care for patients who need essential surgical services. The roadmap also points out that the “need for centralized coordinated governmental action to deploy necessary supplies and alleviate the financial burden on physician practices, health care providers and facilities is critical so the health care community can continue to meet the increasing demands for care of COVID-19 patients both in the operating rooms and throughout the facility.”

Read the November 23 letter from ACS, AORN, and ASA to Vice President Mike Pence, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, President-Elect Joe Biden, and other top officials HERE.

The updated Joint Roadmap document is available HERE.

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 82,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. "FACS" designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

About the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses

The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) supports the professional practice of more than 200,000 perioperative nurses by providing evidence-based research, education, standards, and practice resources—including Guidelines for Perioperative Practice -- to keep health care workers safe and enable optimal outcomes for patients undergoing operative and other invasive procedures. For more information, visit http://www.aorn.org.

About American Society of Anesthesiologists

Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 54,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves. For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. For updated information, resources and education related to COVID-19, please visit www.asahq.org/covid19info. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/WhenSecondsCount. Like ASA on Facebook, follow ASALifeline on Twitter.

To speak with a representative, contact:

Sally Garneski
Senior Manager of Public Profile and Visibility
American College of Surgeons
(312) 202-5409
pressinquiry@facs.org

Gayle Davis
Director, Corporate Communications
Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
(303) 928-9105
gdavis@aorn.org

Theresa Hill
Director of Public Relations
American Society of Anesthesiologists
(773) 330-5273
t.hill@asahq.org