Hospital Preparedness and SARS

摘要

On May 23, 2003, Toronto experienced the secondphase of a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) out-break. Ninety cases were confirmed, and >620 potentialcases were managed. More than 9,000 persons had con-tact with confirmed or potential case-patients; manyrequired quarantine. The main hospital involved during thesecond outbreak was North York General Hospital. Wereview this hospital's response to, and management of, thisoutbreak, including such factors as building preparationand engineering, personnel, departmental workload, poli-cies and documentation, infection control, personal protec-tive equipment, training and education, public health,management and administration, follow-up of SARSpatients, and psychological and psychosocial managementand research. We also make recommendations for otherinstitutions to prepare for future outbreaks, regardless oftheir origin