Two Years of #UMMCStrong

Good morning!

Before I get to today’s topic, I want to update you that our contract negotiations with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi (remember, NOT the State and School Employee’s Health Plan) are ongoing but not yet progressing in the right direction. The current contract ends March 31, 2022 and unless Blue Cross comes to the table with a fair contract, they may force their members to pay more for their care at UMMC or to select a provider outside of UMMC starting April 1.

BCBSMS has paid us below market rates for many years. We are requesting fair market rates for the services we provide. If we had been paid at the regional or national average for academic medical centers over the last ten years, that would equal an additional $400 million. Imagine the services we could support and offer our patients. It is time for us to stand up to them and not rest until we are paid fairly.

We remain steadfastly committed to an agreement that pays us fair, market-driven rates. I will provide more information on this as needed but you can keep up with things at UMMCCares.com.

Now, on to today’s topic.

It’s been two years – two years and four days, to be a little more exact.

That’s how long it’s been since UMMC clinical leaders and managers received their first memo referencing COVID-19, sent March 3, 2020, by supply chain chief Rick McFee. It was followed the next day by a memo I wrote to all faculty, staff and students.

Rick’s memo advised that the Medical Center’s current stock of PPE was adequate “to respond to the anticipated increased usage in case of a COVID-19 outbreak locally.”

My memo says in part: “Just as a reminder, in states and countries that have had cases of the virus, most patients experience mild to moderate flu-like symptoms. A minority have a more serious illness that can develop into a pneumonia. ... Mississippi still does not have a documented case of COVID-19, but we are proceeding under the assumption that we will have cases, and perhaps many.”

What we knew then, and what we know now.

We had no road map, but we hunkered down and did what we do best, which is give stellar care to the sickest of the sick.

Over the past two years, these hospital walls have seen historic devastation and death – 550 of our patients succumbing to the virus out of a state death total topping 12,000. But we’ve also seen, continuing to this day, myriad acts of heroism, of selflessness in the face of exhaustion, of sacrifice, of innovation, and yes, of joy and triumph and reason for hope.

Who would have thought, when UMMC treated its first COVID-19–positive patient on Friday, March 13, 2020, that we’d still be in this fight? That today we’d be seeing daily COVID-19 deaths statewide in the double digits? That Mississippi would, this far out, have seen almost 800,000 reported cases of the virus?

But we’re not done here. We’ve seen what can come with each new variant. And although we know so much more than at the start of this journey, and we have some excellent tools in our toolbox, I anticipate there will be days where we feel like we’re still figuring it out as we go.

As the state’s only academic medical center, our responsibility and privilege is to treat all comers with the most cutting-edge care at our disposal, and to be a leader that brings its full resources to bear on any health threat. We have done that. We will never let up.

I am grateful, every day, to the visionary leadership supplied during this pandemic by Dr. Alan Jones, the Medical Center’s COVID-19 clinical response leader, and Dr. Jonathan Wilson, the COVID-19 incident manager. In a time of great anxiety and uncertainty, they drew on their combined expertise in handling large-scale emergencies to calmly map out UMMC’s response, partnering with the Mississippi State Department of Health and other state agencies to impact every corner of the state. That included harnessing clinical research and trials on how to treat and test for the virus.

I’m equally grateful to our Division of Infectious Diseases led by Dr. Jason Parham. He and Dr. Bhagyashri Navalkele, medical director of infection prevention, championed the exhaustive effort to treat COVID-19 and prevent infection by a virus that seemingly has no rules.

I’m grateful for our relationship with MSDH and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, both invaluable in the effort to get Mississippians first tested, then vaccinated. In the virus’ darkest days, we leaned on each other and combined our voices to educate Mississippians on just how bad this virus can be, and how prevention is the key to getting on the other side of it.

And, let me be clear: Our faculty, staff and students – all of you – have stepped up for many months. Both clinical and non-clinical members of the UMMC family are the heart of our response. You pivoted in our clinics to treat outpatients safely. Our learners and their teachers were innovative, with little warning, in bringing classes online and brainstorming on how and when to safely continue clinical experiences.

You have cared for not only the thousands of Mississippians who come to us for life-saving treatment. You have cared for each other.

Although we’ve seen first-hand how science can be ever-changing and nature will do what it will do, we believe we are seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. We will remain vigilant. We will keep our focus on the future, moving forward with a laser sharp focus. We will not lose sight of our mission and we will arm ourselves with determination, persistence, grace and HOPE.

Thank you for leading the charge in our relentless quest for A Healthier Mississippi.