Xiangya Spirit shines in Wuhan during construction and operation of the cabin hospital for COVID-19 patients

© Journal of Xiangya Medicine. All rights reserved. J Xiangya Med 2020;5:11 | http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jxym.2020.03.03 The alarmingly contagious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak occurred in Wuhan in December 2019. In response to the call of China’s National Health Commission, the Second Xiangya Hospital (SXYH) of Central South University has sent out 4 teams (with a total of 192 members) to Wuhan to fight directly against the epidemic (1). On February 9, SXYH decided to establish the Front-line Command (FLC) of its National Anti-epidemic Medical Team. During its work in Wuhan, the FLC strictly followed the Xiangya Spirit, or Xiangya Hospital’s motto of “Fairness, Bravery, Diligence, Prudence, Honesty, Love, Humbleness, Integrity, Truth, Precision, Profoundness, and Professionalism” and has managed to develop a Xiangya mode for the team’s services in the construction and operation of the cabin hospital in Wuchang District of Wuhan. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Central government decided to set up cabin hospitals as a solution to overcome the serious bed shortage in Wuhan after the outbreak of COVID-19. However, converting gymnasiums, convention centers, and classrooms/dormitories into infectious disease hospitals posed several challenges in terms of infrastructure, operating rules and policies, teamwork, staff training, and patient diagnosis and rehabilitation (2,3). After receiving orders from the government, SXYH immediately sent its medical team to support the construction of the Wuchang Hongshan Gymnasium Cabin Hospital. The team was the first national medical emergency team outside of Hubei Province that arrived in Wuhan and participated in the construction and operation of the cabin hospital in Wuchang. Assigned by the Wuhan Wuchang District government, SXYH was responsible for the medical work in Wuchang cabin hospitals . The FLC of SXYH immediately coordinated with 4 national medical emergency teams from SXYH, Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, and Fujian Provincial Hospital, as well as the medical teams from Hubei Provincial Cancer Hospital and Hubei Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital to develop the joint working mechanism and medical quality control standards. The FLC strictly followed the Xiangya Spirit to guide the construction and operation of Wuchang cabin hospitals for COVID-19 patients (4,5), ensuring the multiple teams from the 6 hospitals had clearly defined responsibilities, mutual trust, and good cooperation. A long-term medical quality management mechanism has also been established in Wuchang cabin hospitals (4,5).