CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2020 - 11

RESEARCH

acute patients in hospitals, it became apparent that
converting large facilities to make-shift hospitals was
a necessity. " The questions became - where will the
patients go, who will staff for our needs, what equipment do we need to meet the demand, and what kind
of training do we need?
As Colorado's " field hospitals " were built out within
days (i.e. the Denver Convention Center and The
Ranch in Loveland), Harpin was developing 'Just in
Time Training' videos and modules for health care
providers and the general public. " We trained 15
master trainers, two of whom are CU Nursing alums! "
said Harpin. Those trainers are prepared to train
hundreds of first-line responders including health
sciences students, retired RNs/MDs, Medical Reserve
Corps members, health care workers from other hot
zones and community volunteers. It is often said that
successful crisis management is planning for the worst
and never having to enact the plan because the crisis
has been averted or abated. " We hope we don't have
to use the field hospitals, but we have them ready just
in case, " said Harpin.

Nurse Scientist
Figaro Loresto Jr. PhD, RN

In addition to staffing up for the public, it became
clear in late March that Denver's homeless populations
were a special concern for COVID transmission. " Stay
at home orders do not work for those with no home, "
said Harpin. So it became imperative to create shelters
with social distancing capabilities for this vulnerable
population. The City of Denver organized around two
facilities - a 750-bed operation at the National Western
Complex specifically for men and a second 250-bed
facility for women at the Denver Coliseum. " We discovered that we needed to make sure that we provide not
just masks, socially distanced beds, but also an array of
social services to include medical and behavioral care, "
said Harpin.
" These facilities have also provided much-needed
clinical opportunities for our students, " said Harpin.
" As well as a great learning opportunity, our current
experience might pepper our future curriculum with
COVID-19 education. "
Associate Professor
Scott Harpin, PhD, MPH,
RN, FSAHM

At the time of the presentation, the state had 1162 ventilators at the ready, and 316 were in use. As of July 17,
the number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations
is slowly rising throughout the state. Moreover, the
Governor issued a state-wide mask order in response
to the increase.

CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2020

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