Atrius Health Proud to Support COVID-19 Response at Boston Hope Medical Center

Community providers focused in outpatient care step up to work in hospital during coronavirus crisis

Atrius Health, the largest nonprofit independent medical group in Massachusetts, is proud to be among the first to support Boston Hope, an effort to care for COVID-19 patients at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center led by state and city officials as well as Partners HealthCare and Boston Health Care for the Homeless.

Twenty-one Atrius Health physicians, three nurse leaders, and 23 clinicians including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses are treating patients at the medical center. These clinicians join the Boston Hope effort from a range of specialties across Atrius Health, including orthopedics, pediatrics, family medicine, radiology, dermatology, pain medicine, OB/GYN, and internal medicine. This work is very different from the important work many of them do on a daily basis in outpatient settings, as Atrius Health does not own hospitals and is not part of a hospital system. After undergoing training, these clinicians were the first line of support for the start-up of the sub-acute section of the medical center. Atrius Health nurses are helping to lead nursing operations and manage the 500-bed sub-acute section of the medical center.

“Collaboration and coordination across healthcare organizations as well as state, local and federal officials is crucial to caring for patients and keeping them safe during this crisis,” said Dr. Steve Strongwater, President & CEO of Atrius Health. “I’m proud of our clinicians who are stepping up during the peak of the pandemic to be sure we did our part to help our community.”

Atrius Health was intentionally selected for Boston Hope because of the medical group’s respected, highly trained and talented clinicians. Several have already risen over and above to help patients at the Center, even organizing donations in places where they saw gaps.

Atrius Health’s collaboration with the offices of Mayor Walsh and Governor Baker, Partners HealthCare, Boston Health Care for the Homeless and the United States Military at Boston Hope come in addition to the work it is doing at its own facilities to care for its nearly three-quarters of a million patients during this pandemic. This includes establishing COVID-19 emergency call and resource centers, drive-through testing sites, urgent care, and shifting routine visits online or to video and telephone.