Staffing Up For The Surge: Expanding The New York City Public Hospital Workforce During The COVID-19 Pandemic.

Ascending to the peak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in New York City, NYC Health + Hospitals (NYC H+H), the City's public health care system, rapidly expanded capacity across its 11 acute-care hospitals and three new field hospitals. To meet the unprecedented demand for patient care, NYC H+H redeployed staff to the areas of greatest need and redesigned recruiting, onboarding, and training processes. The hospital system engaged private staffing agencies, partnered with the U.S Department of Defense, and recruited volunteers throughout the country. A centralized onboarding team created a single-source portal for medical providers requiring credentialing and established new staff positions to increase efficiency. Using new educational tools focused on COVID-19 content, the hospital system trained 20,000 staff, including nearly 9,000 nurses, within a two-month period. Creation of multidisciplinary teams, frequent enterprise-wide communication, willingness to shift direction in response to changing needs, and innovative use of technology were the key factors that enabled the hospital system to meet its goals. [Editor's Note: This Fast Track Ahead Of Print article is the accepted version of the manuscript. The final edited version will appear in an upcoming issue of Health Affairs.].