key: cord-270254-dp7z1kla authors: Inzitari, Marco; Udina, Cristina; Len, Oscar; Ars, Joan; Arnal, Cristina; Badani, Hugo; Davey, Vanessa; Risco, Ester; Ayats, Pere; de Andrés, Ana M.; Mayordomo, Cristina; Ros, Francisco J.; Morandi, Alessandro; Cesari, Matteo title: How a Barcelona post-acute facility became a referral center for comprehensive management of subacute patients with COVID-19 date: 2020-06-11 journal: J Am Med Dir Assoc DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.06.015 sha: doc_id: 270254 cord_uid: dp7z1kla Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic’s greatest impact is among older adults. Management of the situation requires a systemic response, and post-acute care (PAC) can provide an adequate mix of active treatment, management of associated geriatric syndromes and palliative care, both in the acute phase, and in post-COVID-19 recovery. In the region of Catalonia, Spain, selected PAC centers have become a site to treat COVID-19 older patients. Referrals come from the emergency department (ED) or COVID-19 wards of the acute reference hospitals, nursing homes or private homes. We critically review the actions taken by Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili, a PAC facility in Barcelona, to manage the pandemic, including its administration, healthcare, communication, psychological support and ethical frameworks. We believe that the strategies we employed and the lessons we learned can be useful for other sites and countries where similar adaptation of existing facilities may be implemented. Brief Summary: The paper describes how a large post-acute care facility in 23 Barcelona, was adapted at the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic to become 24 a polyvalent reference center for older COVID-19 patients assessed as not 25 requiring intensive care. 26 Key word: COVID-19, post-acute care, older adults, geriatrics, geriatric 27 syndromes, palliative care 28 Funding source: This research did not receive any funding from agencies in 29 the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 30 Acknowledgements: We acknowledge the staff working at Parc Sanitari Pere 31 Virgili during the COVID-19 pandemic, including healthcare professionals as 32 well as support staff and central services from this and external institutions. Table 1) . The facility receives around 75% of admissions 99 directly from the ED or wards of two major acute university hospitals (Vall 100 d'Hebron and Clinic hospitals, serving around 900.000 inhabitants), and 25% 101 from primary care. 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