Case study: Vancouver Coastal Health Authority Takes on Covid-19

1. In March, what was the testing capacity utilization at each step? Which step was the bottleneck? How was St. Paul's Hospital positioned for April under the current system?
2. What should the VCHA do to increase their capacity to meet the expected demand?

EXHIBIT 1: COVID-19 MILESTONES IN CANADA January 25: Health Canada reported its first case of COVID-19 after a traveller from Wuhan, China, flew to Toronto, Ontario. January 28: Health Canada confirmed its second and third cases of COVID-19, one related to the traveller from January 25 , and one in BC. February 6: Health Canada mandated COVID-19 testing for all incoming travellers from China with symptoms. February 20: Canada reported its first case related to travel outside of China. February 26: Canada reported 12 confirmed cases (9 related to travel from China; 3 related to travel from Iran). March 11: The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. March 16: Canada announced the closing of its borders to non-Canadians. March 17: Ontario and Alberta both declared states of emergency. March 18: Canada and the United States announced the closing of their shared border to all non-workrelated travel. British Columbia and Saskatchewan both declared states of emergency. March 19: New Brunswick declared a state of emergency. March 20: Canadian COVID-19 cases surpassed 1,000. Manitoba declared a state of emergency. March 25: The federal government declared that a 14-day quarantine for all arrivals was mandatory. March 30: Defence minister Harjit Sajjan relocates 24,000 Canadian troops to fight COVID-19 on the front line. The Government of Canada announced the wage subsidy program for all businesses. (ou may not have access to some features. View permissions March 30: Defence minister Harjit Sajjan relocates 24,000 Canadian troops to fight COVID-19 on the front line. The Government of Canada announced the wage subsidy program for all businesses. April 2: Canada's COVID-19 deaths surpass 100 cases. April 6: 3M Company confirmed a deal to provide Canada with essential N95 masks. Note: WHO= World Health Organization. Source: Canadian Press, "A Timeline of Events in Canada's Fight against COVID-19," Toronto Star, June 18, 2020, www.thestar.comews/canada/2020/06/18/a-timeline-of-events-in-canadas-fight-against-COVID-19.html. EXHIBI 3: BRIISH COLUMBIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH BREAKDOWN BY REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITY Source: "Health Boundaries. British Columbia, accessed March 1. 2021 https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/data/geographic-data-services/land-use/administrative-boundaries/health-boundaries. You may not have access to some features. View permissions Page 10 9821D006 EXHIBIT 2: TOTAL COVID-19 CASES IN CANADA Source: "BC COVID-19 Data," BC Centre for Disease Control, accessed October 23, 2020, www.bccdc.ca/healthinfo/diseases-conditions/COVID-19/data. ns. You may not have access to some features. View permissions Page 12 9B21D0C EXHIBIT 5: CURRENT DAILY NEW COVID-19 TESTS PER REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITY EXHIBIT 7: COLLECTION CENTRES Source: "COVID-19 Testing," Vancouver Coastal Health, accessed March 1, 2021, www.vch.ca/COVID-19/COVID-19-testing. EXHIBIT 8: TESTING PROCESS SUMMARY nissions. You may not have access to some features. View permissions Page 13 9B21D006 EXHIBIT 6: PROCESS FLOW OF COVID-19 TESTING ns. You may not have access to some features. View permissions Page 12 9B21D0C EXHIBIT 5: CURRENT DAILY NEW COVID-19 TESTS PER REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITY EXHIBIT 8: TESTING PROCESS SUMMARY * 35 employees across all seven collection centres. Source: Adapted by the authors based on an interview with Rohan Noronha, a physician from Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and industry standards, September 31, 2020. nissions. You may not have access to some features. View permissions Source: Alexandra Ossola, "Here Are the Coronavirus Testing Materials That Are in Short Supply in the US," Quartz, March 25, 2020, https://qz.com/1822596/all-the-coronavirus-test-materials-in-short-supply-in-the-us/