As we’ve moved through this great pandemic of 2019-20, I’ve been constantly aware of the need to document our experiences for purposes of posterity. These have been historic times, and we have faced challenges unprecedented in our lifetimes. We’ve learned so much from our experiences. Documenting what we’ve done will create an invaluable record that future generations can draw from when they are confronted with similar viral threats that will inevitably appear.
As we wrap up Employee Appreciation Week, I’ve put together a list of some of the larger things that YOU have accomplished and that I, among many others, appreciate:
On Jan. 27, the Incident Command Center was formally activated, giving us a head start on our preparations. Our response team is experienced and well-practiced for this kind of emergency.
Our physicians, nurses and other caregivers have adapted dramatically and quickly to taking care of patients with a disease process that was not even on our radar six months ago. Special kudos to the clinical teams in the MICU, the ER, Women’s Urgent Care, the CICU, 2North and 2South. Your endurance and professionalism is noted and appreciated.
Experiencing a great need for a test we could not obtain commercially, our pathology and microbiology faculty and staff developed in-house testing capability. In record time. Today we are doing our internal testing, as well as testing for the Mississippi State Department of Health and other hospitals.
An innovative faculty member in the Department of Anesthesiology, Dr. Charles Robertson, created a ventilator out of commonly available parts to be used in crisis situations. Our UMMC founders would have been proud of his ingenuity. This is the type of inventiveness on which UMMC was built.
To ramp up the staffing of screening, testing, telehealth and other newly needed services, the Labor Pool – later rebranded the UMMC Reserves – was established. UMMC team members have been reassigned to 4,239 shifts since March 30.
The volunteer service contributions from our employees and students have been inspiring, with students logging more than 3,321 hours.
More than 130 patient rooms have been converted to negative air pressure to ensure the safest possible environment for taking care of COVID-19 patients, with help from our facilities staff.
Working with C Spire, we initiated statewide screening via a smartphone app and set up a screening hotline for employees and students.
Working with the MSDH, we have organized testing sites for people throughout the state. As of May 12, we have tested 6,838 Mississippians.
The lower level of Parking Garage B was converted first into an employee and student testing site, and later into a patient respiratory clinic equipped with lab and x-ray capability.
Drive-thru lab services were established for our patients so they could have their blood drawn without leaving their cars.
The Ethical Allocation of Resources Team (TEAR) was developed to assist with difficult patient care and resource decisions.
Behind the scenes for all of our operations, teams from the Division of Information Systems made all the systems work and developed new applications for this crisis.
Supply Chain employees worked tirelessly to pursue all traditional and non-traditional leads that came their way to make sure we had the personal protective equipment (PPE) we needed.
Speaking of PPE, a process was developed to sterilize used-but-not-soiled N95 masks, the most precious PPE of all.
Communications and Marketing established a dedicated web page to consolidate information in an easy-to-find location and managed press conferences, press releases, media inquiries and most importantly, the daily memo. Its Media Productions unit facilitated several streaming virtual town hall sessions.
Many of you have worked to develop new policies and processes unique to the needs of this current environment.
Dr. Jonathan Wilson and Dr. Alan Jones have served diligently and without ceasing as Incident Manager and Clinical Response Leader, respectively.
Deans and faculty quickly converted educational activities into online and other non-in-person alternatives.
To date, 15 clinical trials related to COVID-19 have been initiated by leaders and staff in our research mission.
As of May 14, at least 18,386 telehealth visits had taken place in lieu of office visits. Telehealth will be more integral to our clinical services going forward.
An employee and student crisis hotline was deployed by the Department of Psychiatry to provide support to members of our UMMC community.
Leaders in Human Resources, Legal, Hospital Administration, Finance, School of Medicine department chairs and countless others have participated, led and contributed in immeasurable ways.
A conference call is conducted daily with MSDH leadership; several UMMC leaders are serving on the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force.
The Mississippi community has also responded with an outpouring of support, much of it coordinated through the Office of Development. Seamstresses have donated thousands of fabric masks. Two distilleries have converted normal operations to produce hand sanitizer. Businesses, medical and dental offices, and individuals have donated thousands of items of PPE. A blue jean company has converted normal operations to produce masks. Many individuals, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. have donated food items to our workforce. The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge has offered free lodging to our front line workforce; several hotels have offered rooms at reduced rates. I am deeply grateful to all who have supported UMMC during this time.
Last but definitely not least, Dr. Bhagyashri Navalkele and Dr. Jason Parham from the Division of Infectious Diseases have served as in-house lead experts in this war with an unknown enemy and have done so in a cool, calm and composed manner that has been simply superhuman. Their patience, availability and expert advice have guided every single decision.
The common denominator for all the things I’ve listed is people. UMMC people. This experience reminds me of an old saying that a crisis doesn’t build character so much as it reveals it. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed what #UMMCStrong is all about, and I couldn’t be more honored to serve alongside you in this trying time.
With that said, as I reflect on our experiences of the last few months, I have never been more proud to be the leader of UMMC than I am right now. In response to the pandemic, you have stepped up to serve our patients, the UMMC community and Mississippi in nothing less than a heroic manner.