SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)
In the winter of 2003 SARS outbreak was experienced in Toronto. North York General Hospital, where I work, was the epicentre of the second wave of SARS to hit the city. As a result, the hospital was closed for over 3 months but continued to treat patients with SARS on inpatient wards and critical care units. The Emergency Department (ED) initially diagnosed and treated these patients and subsequently set up a SARS Assessment Clinic (SAC) open to the public. Following the SARS outbreak, myself and other members of the ED set out to teach and share our unique experiences and lessons learned with colleagues, trainees and other healthcare professionals locally, nationally and internationally through presentations and publications.
SARS CASES BY COUNTRY
Publications
"I am a SARS physician"
was published in 2003 in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine. The article details my personal experinece during the SARS outbreak. I wrote this article while I was sitting at home in quarrantine. The article was written, sent to the Editor of CJEM and accepted all within 2 days!
Penciner R. I am a SARS physician. Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2003; 5(4): 281-282.
Celebrating my wife's birthday while I was in quarantine
"SARS assessment clinic: A rapid response to an infectious outbreak."
was co-authored with Tim Rutledge and Karyn Popovich and published in 2005 in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine. This article details the development and implemntation of a SARS Assessment Clinic in our ambulance bay of our ED within a week to respond to the growing concern in the public about SARS.
SARS ASESSMENT CLINIC