SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-From Blueprint to Bedside: Operationalizing a Hotel-to-Hospital Conversion for Acute Care

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This document describes research to create a Hotel-to-Hospital (H2H) conversion playbook for use during major medical surges when existing hospitals are overwhelmed. Traditional alternate care facilities often have problems with privacy, infection control, HVAC, clinical workflow, and patient/staff experience. Hotels were identified as a promising alternative because they already provide private rooms, bathrooms, temperature control, food service, laundry, and strong infrastructure.<br /><br />The project was developed by a multidisciplinary team from the University of Colorado, with support from the Defense Health Agency and the National Disaster Medical System pilot program. It was designed around a large surge scenario involving 1,000 returning combat casualties per day for 100 days. The goal was to determine whether a hotel could be rapidly transformed into a functional, hospital-integrated care site capable of delivering medical-surgical and critical care within less than four weeks.<br /><br />The team converted parts of a hotel into a remote “wing” of the hospital, fully integrated with the parent hospital’s electronic medical record, supply chain, pharmacy, telehealth, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, and infection prevention systems. They tested the concept using patient scenarios, evacuations, and Epic production environment workflows. Key findings included: infection prevention is feasible in single-occupancy rooms; point-of-care lab testing can feed directly into the EMR; telehealth and off-site monitoring can support staffing; most inpatient imaging needs can be met on-site; hotel beds were suitable for CPR; and even ICU-level care, including dialysis and invasive monitoring, can be configured.<br /><br />Overall, the study concludes that hotels can be converted into safe, patient-centered alternate care facilities in under four weeks and can function as effective hospital extensions during prolonged crises.

Asset Subtitle

Jason Persoff

Meta Tag

Author List Amy Herron, Charles Little, Elaina Huffman, Jason Persoff, Jenny Schmitz, Jessica Ryder, Megan Nies, Ryan Schultz

Category Innovations

Concept Alternate Care Facility

Concept Hotel

Concept Medical Surge

Concept Hospital Integration

Concept Shared Electronic Medical Record Results Pool

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization University of Colorado School of Medicine

Presenting Author Jason Persoff

Track Value in Hospital Medicine

Keywords

hotel-to-hospital conversion

alternate care facility

medical surge response

hospital overflow

infection control

telehealth integration

electronic medical record

critical care

disaster medicine

patient-centered care

Alternate Care Facility

Hotel

Medical Surge

Hospital Integration

Shared Electronic Medical Record Results Pool