Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

28 PATIENT SAFETY & OUTCOMES Mental health professionals may replace some police security at San Francisco hospital By Erica Carbajal S ome of the sheriff 's deputies provid- ing security services at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center may soon be replaced by trained mental health workers, the San Francisco Examiner reported May 3. A proposal from the health department calls for cutting 11 of the hospital's 29 depu- ty sheriff positions, and using the cost-sav- ings to hire an additional 44 healthcare workers who can respond to security calls using de-escalation tactics. e proposal calls for requesting law enforcement only when further assistance is needed. e health department issued the proposal aer some of the hospital's employees raised concerns about deputies disproportion- ately using force against patients of color, according to the Examiner. A report from the health department found 62 of 120 use- of-force incidents by deputies in fiscal year 2019-29 involved a Black patient. "This is an inequity that the department, community members and staff advocates find unacceptable," Basil Price, security director for the health department, said in a letter to the health commission cited by the news outlet. "The department has con- cluded that healthcare-specific alternatives to law enforcement are more appropriate for meeting the goal of safety and security in many situations and environments." Some hospital staff have argued against the proposal, with a petition opposite the removal of law enforcement getting 4,000 signatures last year. They say law enforce- ment is needed to protect them from violence. Ken Lomba, president of the Deputy Shefiffs' Association, disputed claims that deputies could be racial profiling patients, telling the Examiner that use-of-force incidents at the hospital are the result of calls requesting their help and not from encounters initiated by the deputies. "If ZSFGH wants us there it should be written in the City Charter to stop these bad decisions," Mr. Lomba said. "We are deeply concerned for the safety of patients, visitors and employees at ZSFGH." e health department's proposal was presented for the first time to the health commission May 4. n Severe MIS-C symptoms appear to resolve within 6 months, study suggests By Erica Carbajal T he most severe symptoms of multisystem inflam- matory syndrome in children — a rare but serious condition related to COVID-19 — resolved within six months for most patients, though less debilitating symp- toms lingered for some, according to a small study pub- lished May 24 in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. Researchers at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London observed 46 children who were admitted for the condi- tion between April 4 and Sept. 1, 2020. Specialists fol- lowed up with the patients six weeks and six months af- ter readmission. Patients were a mean age of 10.2 years old, and eight had pre-existing comorbidities. While hospitalized, all patients had systemic inflamma- tion, and most experienced severe symptoms including heart abnormalities. Within six months, systemic inflam- mation resolved in all patients except one, the findings showed. Two patients still had heart abnormalities and six were experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms. For 18 of the children, less severe symptoms lingered, such as muscle weakness and fatigue, and 15 experi- enced severe emotional difficulties including anxiety. Researchers also conducted a six-minute walking test at six months and found 18 patients scored in the bottom 3 percent for their age and sex. They could not confirm whether this was related to MIS-C since the study did not include a control group. "These findings can hopefully signal cautious optimism that many of the most severe effects of [MIS-C] appear to resolve within six months," Dr. Justin Penner, study co-au- thor and pediatric infectious disease specialist at the hos- pital, told CNN. "However, the persisting fatigue, difficulty exercising, and mental health effects we saw in some chil- dren, which can interfere with daily lives, must be closely monitored and patients should continue to be supported by medical teams with a range of specialisms." More than 3,700 people under the age of 20 have devel- oped the condition and 35 have died as of May 3, accord- ing to the CDC. Physicians from several hospitals told CNN that while more research is needed, the study's findings are mostly in line with what they've seen among former MIS-C patients they've followed up with. n

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