Home

We urge communities to quickly seek solutions that will allow daily monitoring of the oxygen levels of their members diagnosed with COVID-19 by healthcare proffesionals. Together with other indicators, this will allow early detection of respiratory deterioration and may save many lives.

Based on experience in Israel and elsewhere, it is becoming more and more apparent that recognition of “alarmed signs” and early treatment can drastically reduce morbidity and mortality. While Hypoxemia was shown to be a primary predictor for mortality, low oxygen saturation levels remain often “silent” in early stages leading to extensive pulmonary damage prior to hospitalization. Communities may play a crucial role in saving the lives of their sick members by sharing crucial, timely information and providing individual help when needed. We wish to share the lesson we have learned from the successful experience obtained in Israel by the community health services, in preventing the deterioration of COVID-19 patients at home through efficient monitoring of symptoms and simple clinical parameters including the oxygen level by medical professionals.

What can you do to help save the lives of the COVID-19 patients in your community?

Steps you can take to allow early detection of respiratory deterioration:

  1. Identify the sick that are at home within your community:
    Form a hot-line number and use contact resources like the community newsletter and database.
  2. Find unused pulse oximeters within the community or purchase them (through epidemiological data we estimate that a community of a thousand people will need around ten oximeters simultaneously).
  3. Assemble a volunteer/paid professional medical team (1 M.D. +1 Nurse per thousand people), which will provide the oximeters to the patients (with proper precautions) and will monitor them daily by phone or through house visits.
  4. Coordinate with the local health system and make sure urgent care is given to patients with early sign of clinical and respiratory deterioration.

How does it work?

  1. A potential or confirmed COVID-19 patient contacts the hotline.
  2. A medical doctor decides whether the patient needs community monitoring.
  3. If monitoring is recommended, an oximeter is delivered to the patient with instructions. The patient is monitored daily by phone or house visits by trained proffesionals.
  4. If there are signs of clinical deterioration, the patient is urgently reffered to hospitalization.

How can we help?

Every community has different needs, resources and organizational structure. The Community Respiration Sentinel (CRS) model needs to be adapted to the specific community requirements.  We can help answer questions by referring them to experienced professionals in Israel and abroad who have implemented the model. Feel free to contact Our Team.