NEW HAVEN, Conn. , Sept. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders from across Yale School of Medicine will present new strategies for improving health equity, developed during their response to the COVID-19 pandemic at a summit on Wednesday, Sept.
18. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Health developed a detailed plan, including the implementation of uniform protocols, precise criteria for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and load balancing across the entire health system. These strategies and successes are outlined in the preprint study, "Implementation of Uniform Processes of Care Across an Academic Health System During the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Surge and Their Association with Outcomes.
" Yale's resulting mortality rate during the pandemic was 34% lower than the national average across all racial and ethnic groups. The Yale team says uniformity of care made a major difference in promoting health equity. "While health equity remains a significant challenge in the United States , during the COVID-19 pandemic, Yale's action plan successfully reduced mortality rates across various patient groups," said Gary Désir, MD , chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, senior author of the paper, and event host.
"At this summit, we will explore how Yale's strategies reduced health care disparities. Participants will gain valuable insights and actionable strategies to implement at their institutions, fostering positive change in their communit.