Preparing for a COVID-19 Surge

Dr. Tom Sugarman, ED physician at Sutter Delta Medical Center in California and Senior Director of Government Affairs at Vituity discusses insights on the COVID-19 landscape, considerations for flu season preparation and how critical it is for hospitals and health systems to start preparing now prior to the onset of a potential COVID-19 surge.  This includes accounting for the need to call in support from outside their health system, aligning on communications approach to and from the front lines, focusing on resiliency, and providing resources to support provider and staff wellness during these stressful times.

Thomas Sugarman, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, is an Emergency Medicine Physician at Sutter Delta Medical Center in CA and Senior Director of Government Affairs at Vituity. He is the past President of the Alameda Contra Costa Medical Association and of the California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He is also Co-Chair of the East Bay Safe Prescribing Coalition. He is the Senior Director of Government Affairs for Vituity. Dr. Sugarman holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a medical degree from University of Illinois at Chicago. He completed his emergency medicine residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Sugarman has practiced emergency medicine with Vituity since 2001 and was chosen by the Sutter Delta Medical Center emergency department as Doctor of the Year in 2005.