How USACS Reacted to COVID-19
General News
Jun 7, 2022
US Acute Care Solutions experienced the same sudden and unprecedented declines in hospital & ED volumes related to COVID-19 that everyone else did.
How we reacted was different.
We prioritized state-of-the-art patient care
- We provided clinical updates three times a week to educate our clinicians on the latest evidence-based management techniques during a time of ultra-rapid knowledge development.
- We created our nationwide COVID Task Force to quickly disseminate best practices nationally.
- We instituted frequent, clear, and concise communication to reduce information overload and to minimize misinformation.
- We created a clinical management tool to facilitate appropriate disposition for COVID patients.
- We created a first-in-the-industry ventilator allocation guideline, leveraging our ethics expertise.
- We provided educational points for clinicians to educate non-medical community members in their personal social media networks.
We prioritized the safety and needs of our clinicians
- We sourced our own national PPE backup supplies to mitigate local shortages.
- We developed a state-of-the-art N95 sterilization technique and shared this with our hospital partners.
- We created on-shift support for decontamination methods.
- We created the first-in-the-industry quarantine fund to pay clinicians for lost time.
- We maintained benefits (including our marquee 401k plan) for our clinicians and employees throughout.
- We distributed wellness resources for our clinicians and their families.
- We created a communication aid for clinicians to facilitate travel to their hospitals without delays.
- We offered first-in-the-industry free antibody testing to all clinicians and employees.
We prioritized the needs of our hospital partners
- We built surge ICU and hospital medicine processes and protocols, pre-ED triage tents, pop-up acute care settings, and even new hospital relationships.
- We supported telemedicine initiatives for hospitals, resulting in new patients being brought into the hospital system for appropriate care.
- We hosted webinars for hospital partners to coordinate an informed COVID response with best practices by leveraging our national footprint of 200+ acute care sites.
- We developed a clinical management tool to assign hospital observation, transfer, and inpatient admission.
- We created guidelines for a COVIDSafe Emergency Department, easing patient concerns about viral transmission and continuing to provide our trademark high-quality care for serious acute conditions.
US Acute Care Solutions is different because we are majority physician-owned and are physician-led. We have the clinical, operational, and financial resources to weather the worst of a storm. COVID is case in point. We stepped up to face this crisis as a leader in our industry and an exceptional partner for our hospitals. We were made for this.
Related News
General News
Aug 28, 2025
US Acute Care Solutions Launches Enhanced Pediatric Readiness Initiative Nationwide
CANTON, Ohio, August 28, 2025 – US Acute Care Solutions (USACS), the nation’s largest physician-owned emergency and inpatient medicine practice, provides emergency medicine services to more than 400 programs nationwide. While several of our partner sites are either children’s hospitals or have a dedicated pediatric department within their adult emergency department (ED), the vast majority do not offer pediatric-specific services. Recognizing the critical need to provide exceptional care to every patient population, we elected to launch an enhanced pediatric readiness initiative across our practice.Annually, approximately 30 million children visit the ED throughout the nation, and nearly 85% of those visits occur in community EDs1,2. At USACS, we see over 1 million pediatric ED visits each year across our sites. The Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Program developed the National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) to support community EDs. The NPRP empowers all EDs to improve their capability to provide high-quality care for children, more widely recognized as being “pediatric ready.” An evidence-based checklist, endorsed by all major professional organizations, was created to establish a baseline for what every community hospital should have in place to be optimally prepared to care for pediatric patients.“Our national practice recognized the need to continually improve pediatric care—after all, we see more kids in our group than almost anyone in the country,” noted Amer Aldeen, MD, Chief Medical Officer for USACS. “That’s why we added pediatric readiness as one of our national quality goals—everyone at USACS plays their part in taking better care of kids.”Leading our practice’s nationwide initiative that coincides with the NPRP is our National Director of Pediatric Services, Sujit Iyer, MD.“As a pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physician, I am extremely passionate about this initiative,” said Dr. Iyer. “I want every physician and APP in our practice to feel confident that they have the resources and support they need to provide life-saving care to our youngest patient population. Research has shown that investing in pediatric readiness can reduce pediatric mortality by 75%, and we have the incredible opportunity to play a role in saving lives of children across the nation.”In 2023, we began requiring every ED where our emergency medicine services are provided to annually complete the Pediatric Readiness Assessment. Although completing the assessment proved to be a great starting point, it was evident that additional efforts were needed to drive meaningful and consistent improvements in how we uniformly care for pediatric patients. To further strengthen the initiative, this year we committed to ensuring that every ED has a designated pediatric champion on staff.“When this initiative was first launched, approximately 17% of our EDs scored 88 or better on the Pediatric Readiness Assessment, which mirrored the national average,” said Dr. Iyer. “To date, over 65% of our sites have scored above 88, a significant accomplishment in such a short timeframe. I am confident that this number will continue to rise as our pediatric champions are identified at every ED. They will play a vital role in our ongoing efforts to both reach and sustain high pediatric readiness scores. Our ultimate goal is to have 100% of our sites score above 88, which is the category of top performing EDs, and the mark proven to reduce mortality and injury risk in children.”Additionally, our focus on creating pediatric-specific education and developing easily accessible educational resources has been instrumental in helping any site that is on the cusp of reaching their pediatric readiness score of 88 and above address the areas on the checklist where there is room for improvement.“Accountability is where I believe our strength as a practice lies as we navigate the pediatric readiness initiative for the long-term,” said Dr. Iyer. “My role is to listen to the specific needs of each ED, determine our next steps to address these needs, and work with the other incredible leaders in our practice, from the Regional Vice Presidents to our National Quality Directors, to streamline our efforts and efficiently disseminate the resources we create together.”As summer comes to a close and school-aged children return to their academic routines, our practice remains committed to providing peace of mind to the communities we serve, assuring them that our EDs are equipped, and our teams are exceptionally prepared to care for their youngest members.About USACSFounded by emergency medicine and inpatient physicians across the country, USACS is solely owned by its physicians and hospital system partners. The group is a national leader in integrated acute care, including emergency, hospital, and critical care medicine services. USACS provides high-quality care to approximately 11 million patients annually across more than 400 programs and is aligned with many of the leading health systems in the country. Visit usacs.com for more.###Media ContactMarty RichmondCorporate Communications DepartmentUS Acute Care Solutions330.493.4443 [email protected], K., Gausche-Hill, M., Joseph, M. M., Brown, K., Snow, S. K., Wright, J. L., AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Section on Surgery, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Committee, EMERGENCY NURSES ASSOCIATION, Pediatric Committee, Pediatric Readiness in the Emergency Department, POLICY STATEMENT, Organizational Principles to Guide and Define the Child Health Care System and/or Improve the Health of All Children (2018). Pediatric Readiness in the Emergency Department. Annals of emergency medicine, 72(6), e123–e136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2018.08.431Goto, T., Hasegawa, K., Faridi, M. K., Sullivan, A. F., Camargo, C. A., Jr (2017). Emergency Department Utilization by Children in the USA, 2010-2011. The western journal of emergency medicine, 18(6), 1042–1046. https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2017.7.33723
General News
May 9, 2025
US Acute Care Solutions Honors the 2024 Clinical Excellence Award Recipients
CANTON, Ohio, May 9, 2025 – US Acute Care Solutions (USACS), the nation’s largest physician-owned, emergency and inpatient medicine practice, is proud to recognize eight recipients of the National Clinical Governance Board’s (NCGB) Clinical Excellence Award. The award honors physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs) across USACS service lines who are not in leadership or management roles.Exemplary clinicians are selected through year-round nominations by their clinical colleagues. They are commended for their remarkable clinical expertise and dedication to patient-centered care. This recognition was presented at USACS’ annual Clinical Leadership Assembly, held this month in Washington, D.C.Congratulations to the 2024 Clinical Excellence Award recipients:Asal Najafi-Mahalati, DO, Sinai Hospital, LifeBridge—Baltimore, MDDavid Bosch, DO, AdventHealth Southlands—Lakewood, COEussra El-Magbri, MD, Inova Alexandria Hospital—Alexandria, VAJason Goldwasser, DO, Jefferson Hospital—Jefferson Hills, PAJeffrey Haines, PA-C, Meritus Medical Center—Hagerstown, MDJustin French-Kazee, DO, St. Mary’s Medical Center—Huntington, WVTatjana Delemus, MD, Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center – HM—Carson City, NVThomas McElroy, NP, UVA Culpeper Medical Center—Culpeper, VA“The Clinical Excellence Award is a testament to the impactful work of our physicians and APPs,” said Chair of the NCGB, Roya Caloia, DO, MPH, FACEP, FAAEM. “They are the clinicians who inspire each of us to be better at the bedside and who we would want taking care of our family members should they need it. I am pleased to celebrate our winners and thank each of them for their unwavering commitment to the patients we serve.”About USACSFounded by emergency medicine and inpatient physicians across the country, USACS is solely owned by its physicians and hospital system partners. The group is a national leader in integrated acute care, including emergency, hospital, and critical care medicine services. USACS provides high-quality care to approximately 11 million patients annually across more than 400 programs and is aligned with many of the leading health systems in the country. Visit usacs.com for more.###Media ContactMarty RichmondCorporate Communications DepartmentUS Acute Care Solutions330.493.4443 [email protected]