In late May, the Hospital Center for the Covid-19 pandemic - Evandro Chagas National Infectiology Institute (INI/Fiocruz) turned one year old, since the arrival of the first patient transferred there from the state’s central agency for hospital bed regulation. The unit, built in less than two months, is one of the main actions of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - Fiocruz in the fight against the new coronavirus pandemic.
Fiotec also worked in the acquisition of equipment and consumables as the hospital was being constructed, and later in the protection of the professionals involved in patient care. The institution imported thousands of face shields, triple surgical masks and N95 masks, gowns, and mechanical respirators. In 2020, Fiotec buyers were in the race for personal protection equipment (PPE), with scarse availability and considerable difficulty finding fair prices.
Besides having a structure completely oriented towards Covid-19 patients, with beds equipped with negative air pressure isolation system, specific for aerosol-transmitted infections, the hospital center is crucial to speed up research on the disease. Such is the case of the Solidarity clinical trial, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and coordinated here in Brazil by Fiocruz. The goal of the study is to investigate the efficacy of four treatments against the new coronavirus. In addition to the INI/Fiocruz hospital center, 17 other hospitals in 12 Brazilian states are participating in the initiative.
The hospital operates under a strict regime of surveillance and monitoring of patients and of the professionals involved in the hospital’s operating routine. Temperature checking, testing, and active search of symptomatic individuals are carried out on a daily basis. Twenty-six professionals, including physicians, nurses, nursing technicians, pyschologists, social serivce workers and nutritionists are in charge of providing direct assistance to workers of the complex. All these professionals were recruited and hired by Fiotec. In 2020, on the eve of the inauguration of the hospital, the institution opened a selection process with more than 120,000 candidates.
Located at Fiocruz’s main campus, in Rio de Janeiro, the Hospital Center complex for the Covid-19 Pandemic occupies more than 9.8 thousand square meters, with 195 beds destined to intensive and semi-intensive care. The hospital is currently dedicated exclusively to Covid-19, but it will remain as a legacy to the Unified Health System (SUS), thus strengthening the healthcare system in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
With information from the INI/Fiocruz portal.
