Five COVID-19 Questions

Good morning!

Thanks to those of you who viewed Wednesday’s COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall Meeting, either the livestream version or as a download from YouTube.  As of this morning, the video had nearly 1,600 views, so that was a good debut. (A replay of the town hall meeting can be watched here.)

We just recently acquired the ability to livestream content via YouTube, and my intent is to do more of these virtual town hall meetings in the coming days.  We are tentatively planning to do an event focused on human resources questions next Tuesday and on the education mission next Friday. I want to thank our team from Communications and Marketing for pulling off this production with very little lead time.

As I said during this last town hall meeting, we received many more questions than we could answer in our allotted time, so I wanted to follow up today with a special edition of “Five Questions,” which I normally reserve for the last Friday of each month.

For today’s Q&A, I asked for assistance from Dr. Jonathan Wilson, chief administrative officer and incident manager for the COVID-19 crisis, and Dr. Alan Jones, professor and chair of emergency medicine and clinical response leader.  They were my guests for Wednesday’s town hall meeting and these are some the questions we weren’t able to get to then.

Q:  Is it standard practice during this pandemic to have pregnant employees, whether clinical or non-clinical, work in any area of increased risk?

A:  UMMC is following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response to COVID-19.  The CDC is not recommending removing pregnant health care personnel because of COVID-19 alone, but suggests that appropriate efforts to minimize exposure, especially during higher risk (aerosol-generating) procedures, be taken whenever feasible.  UMMC Human Resources has developed a process for employees to make a request for accommodations during the pandemic and any employees who believe they should have an accommodation should use that process.  You can find a link to frequently asked questions prepared by our Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology here.

Q:  Earlier we discovered that facial makeup can interfere with the sterilization process for N95 masks. Is the same true for sunscreen? Asking for someone with a history of melanoma.

A:  Any product that results in visible soiling of the N95 mask will interfere with the sterilization process and will require us to exclude the product from sterilization.

 Q:  I am curious if we will soon start to screen every inpatient in the hospital. I am concerned that we are seeing patients who are not COVID-19-positive or COVID-19 PUI (persons under investigation) but who may be asymptomatic carriers and therefore vectors of the virus.

A:  As the pandemic progresses and our on-site testing capacity increases, we may be able to extend our testing parameters, particularly to include those undergoing procedures at high risk for aerosol generation.  However at the moment, we are focusing on testing symptomatic patients who screen as high risk through our standardized process.

Q:  On my way in and out to Parking Garage C, there are many door handles and elevator buttons that get pushed. There are no foam dispensers in that long hallway, neither by the elevators nor in the garage. Could we get some installed?

A:  During the present crisis and the uncertainty we are experiencing in the supply chain, we have distributed our available supplies of hand sanitizer with a focus on the clinical areas where they are needed most.  There are foam dispensers beside every elevator door in Garage C, but we have not made it a priority to restock these locations (although I notice most are currently filled).  We will replenish these dispensers in non-clinical locations as adequate supplies become available. In the meantime, we want to stress the importance of proper hand hygiene after touching common surfaces when you arrive at your workplace or at your vehicle.  Keeping a small container of hand sanitizer in your vehicle is always a good idea. 

Q:  Will the COVID-19 crisis delay the opening of the Children’s expansion?

A:  The project is currently on schedule and on budget.  Like many things today with COVID-19, attempting to forecast several months from now is impossible.  Our construction office and contractors are committed to completing this critical project for Mississippi’s children.

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Thank you again for your questions and your engagement during this challenging time.  I will stress again that we are as prepared as we can be for what’s ahead of us, but every day presents new opportunities to stay out in front of this disease. Preparation trumps panic. 

Many people have asked me when I think we will hit our peak patient demand.  Some models say as early as April 18.  Others have it a good bit further into the future.  As I watch our census of COVID-19 patients creep up, I feel the rise might be slower and the peak will look more like a plateau.  In any case, I am extremely wary of commentary in the media that “it may not be as bad as we thought.”  I hope that’s true, but I do not want to let our guard down for one second. I want us to be prepared for the worst.

Regardless of how it all turns out, I will be forever impressed and grateful at the way everyone has pulled together and stepped up to the challenge, surpassing even my high expectations.  Never doubt what we can accomplish together if we remain #UMMCStrong.