Mount Sinai Health System is launching a new Center for Post COVID Care to offer additional support for and gather crucial data from patients recovering from the virus as they transition from hospital to home.
Mounting evidence shows that the virus extends beyond respiratory symptoms to include multiple systemic complications that impact the brain, heart, kidneys and other regions of the body. There are also growing concerns over striking disparities in outcomes for different patient groups, officials said.
"COVID-19 will be with us for years to come, and this Center will ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of their disease state or socioeconomic status, will be able to get the comprehensive, expert care they need for this complex disease,” said Kenneth Davis, M.D., president and CEO of the Mount Sinai Health System, in a statement.
Mount Sinai has treated more than 8,000 patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Located at Mount Sinai-Union Square, the center will serve as a destination for patients across the Mount Sinai Health System. It will provide comprehensive multispecialty care and systematic evaluation of the long-term impact of COVID-19, officials said.
The long-term complications of acute infection are still unknown.
The center will also have a COVID-19 registry in which participating patients will undergo a baseline survey to collect information regarding sociodemographics, behaviors, comorbidities, mental health conditions and medications. Researchers will gather baseline measures of pulmonary symptoms, cognition and other mental health measures along with physical indicators including biometrics, spirometry, EKG, bloodwork and antibody titers for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
“The entire research and clinical community has raced to understand this virus and has swiftly moved treatment and testing innovations from the lab to the bedside," said Barbara Murphy, M.D., chairwoman of the Department of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in a statement. "The Center continues that excellence by caring for a wide spectrum of patients—from those just diagnosed to those already discharged from the hospital and those who were never hospitalized but need help recovering."