Caring for the Workforce of a Health System During the COVID-19 Epidemic in Brazil: Strategies of Surveillance and Expansion of Access to Care.

Duim, Etienne; Guimarães, Mariana Tavares; Ornelas, Rafael Herrera; Gonçalves Brito, Natalia Tatiani; Daher, Gustavo; Seko, Cristiane Yahara; Borges-Junior, Flavio Araujo; Szlejf, Claudia

OBJECTIVES To describe the strategies to monitor and expand access to care for a health system workers' in the first two months of the COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil. METHODS Description of the implemented strategy based on the guidelines developed to address the surveillance and care of a large health system's workforce in the COVID-19 epidemic. RESULTS During phase 1, the surveillance strategy focused on monitoring suspected cases among employees. In phase 2, surveillance was restricted to employees with confirmed COVID-19, aiming at monitoring of symptoms and following hospitalizations. Access to care was expanded. A total of 1089 employees were diagnosed with COVID-19, 89 required hospitalizations and none had died. CONCLUSION The strategies adopted was promptly implemented and could be adapted to the changing epidemic dynamics, allowing low rates of adverse outcomes in this high-risk population.