TY - JOUR T1 - Protected code blue: using in situ simulation to develop a protected code blue and modify staff training protocol—experience in a large community teaching hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic JF - BMJ Open Quality JO - BMJ Open Qual DO - 10.1136/bmjoq-2020-001097 VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - e001097 AU - Fady A Youssef AU - Monique Patel AU - Hyunsoon Park AU - Jay V Patel AU - James Leo AU - Maged A Tanios Y1 - 2021/02/01 UR - http://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/10/1/e001097.abstract N2 - The surge in clinical demand, shortage in personal protective equipment and high-exposure risk for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged hospital common practices and forced a reassessment of care delivery models. Code blue teams are highly specialised units that partake in life-saving situations that can jeopardise the safety of team members. There is a paucity of guidance in regards to proper infection control measures to protect the responders.This study describes a methodical approach to assessing vulnerabilities to transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within existing code blue practices, modalities to limit the number of code blue team responders and modifications to the protocol at a large community teaching hospital. The effort undertaken faced challenges due to the nature of the pandemic and the increased demand on healthcare workers. Quality improvement methods facilitated our protocol design and implementation. To this date, there has been no identified COVID-19 disease in any protected code blue (PCB) team members. We recommend that similar practices be considered and adopted widely and practised periodically. ER -