Big Day Ahead, and Other Topics

Good morning!

A date that a lot of us have been anticipating for a very long time is finally here.  Next Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., we will host the grand opening of our brand spankin’ new Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi.

When we broke ground for this facility on a beautiful December day in 2017, it seemed like the projected construction timeline would take forever to be completed.  But the project has stayed on schedule and on budget and the big day has finally arrived.

My only regret is that, due to the pandemic, we will not be able to have as large of a celebration as we did for the groundbreaking.  But we have arranged to livestream the event on the Children’s of Mississippi Facebook page so that anyone who desires to observe the ceremony will be able to at least virtually participate.

Anyone who has ever been involved in a project of this size, expense and complexity understands how much goes on behind the scenes to get to the finish line.  There are highs and lows, surprises and setbacks.  It takes a colossal effort of committed individuals all doing their part to make it happen.  And I can say that every one of them has been motivated by the desire to do something remarkable that will benefit the children of our state for decades to come.  Bravo!

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Our COVID-19 inpatient census remains on the low side and reasonably manageable at about 50 patients.  But there are worrying trends on the horizon.  Statewide, we are seeing an uptick in daily case counts and a gradual rise in hospitalizations.  Concerned about these trends, on Tuesday, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs fretted in a tweet that “our equilibrium is unravelling,” and I share his concern.

I’m afraid that removal of the statewide mandate regarding mask-wearing is sending the message that everything is safe and we can go back to life as usual, including large gatherings like weddings and funerals, where people are in close quarters without masks for extended periods.  Unfortunately, the virus is still very much with us.  I understand that people are tired of wearing masks and staying distanced, and these proven public health measures are being politicized like never before.  But we are beginning to see the results of noncompliance, and those results will be measured in new cases, new hospitalizations, more deaths and, in many cases, lingering health issues for those who manage to survive the acute phase of the illness.

I hate to rain on anyone’s parade, but the Mississippi State Fair has the potential to be a “superspreader” event.  If you go to the fair, please wear a mask, keep your distance from others and be prepared to sanitize your hands frequently.

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Speaking of rain, we are all bracing for a wet and windy Friday and Saturday as Hurricane Delta bears down on the Louisiana coast.  In many cases, these occasional brushes with severe weather have minimal impact on the Jackson metro area.  But whenever a hurricane or tropical storm threatens Mississippi, our MED-COM team springs into action.

During any disaster that may result in an influx of patients to the state’s health care system, MED-COM plays the role of patient transport coordinator.  The staff stays in touch with hospitals before, during and after the disaster to determine what their capabilities are and what their bed status is.  Then, when first responders start moving patients out of the disaster area, MED-COM can help EMS coordinate where to take the patients.  This helps prevent a single hospital from being inundated with all of the patients, helps EMS avoid transporting patients to a facility that may be damaged and non-operational, and ensures that patients go to a hospital that has the capability of treating their injuries or illnesses.

MED-COM also uses MSWIN, the statewide radio and communication system, to provide logistical support, information dissemination and planning assistance to UMMC disaster response personnel as well as other first responders working in collaboration with our teams and the Mississippi State Department of Health.

It’s comforting to know that our MED-COM staff, working from our new Mississippi Center for Emergency Services building, is always at the ready, and I appreciate their service.

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of conducting my very first faculty meeting - virtually - as a YouTube livestream.  We have two official faculty meetings each year, and you may remember that we canceled the spring meeting due to the pandemic.  Yesterday, the members of our crack Media Productions team converted my office into a production studio and – voila! – the Fall Faculty Meeting.

Just a few highlights from the meeting:  Our enrollment this fall has crested 3,000 students again for the first time in five years, and our faculty have made a smooth transition from classroom-only education to a hybrid model that includes distance learning.  Almost all of our clinical learners have resumed their work in our hospitals and clinics. 

Our researchers have had an exceptional year, garnering more than $82 million in grants and contracts, the second-highest total ever.  They also continued their trend of increasing their scholarly output, with nearly 1,200 UMMC-authored publications indexed on PubMed, the online archive of biomedical and life sciences literature.  It’s remarkable that our research faculty have increased their publications by 265 percent during the last nine years!

Of course, our clinical enterprise has been front-and-center for the last eight months, confronting the coronavirus pandemic with courage and fortitude.  Our clinical teams have cared for more than 1,700 COVID-19 patients, discharging more than 1,500, many of whom were gravely ill at some point.  Our clinical laboratories have conducted nearly 89,000 COVID-19 tests.  Among our patients, 340 have participated in up to 14 clinical trials of novel therapies, and we have begun enrolling healthy individuals in vaccine trials.

As is customary in the fall meeting, we recognized 15 faculty members with 20 years of service to UMMC.  I like to think of these recipients – and others with similar service records – as the engine of the Medical Center, day-in day-out doing the teaching, the research and the patient care that keeps this place running.  Thanks to the honorees, listed below, for your steadfast service.

Taysir Abusaa, Pediatrics

James Bofill, Obstetrics and Gynecology

Kimberly Crowder, Ophthalmology

Roy Duhe, Pharmacology and Toxicology

David Elkin, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

Henry Giles, Radiology

Tereza Holman, Medicine

Anna Lerant, Anesthesiology

Kendall McKenzie, Emergency Medicine

Nils Mungan, Ophthalmology

William Mustain, Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Neck Surgery

Craig Stockmeier, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

Tonia Taylor, Occupational Therapy

Michelle Tucci, Orthopaedic Surgery

Wu Zhou, Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery

I spent the balance of the “meeting” talking about our financial position, recent leadership appointments and former UMMC faculty who have died since the last faculty meeting – a remarkable collection of accomplished people who devoted so much to the Medical Center and to Mississippi.

As I prepared for this faculty meeting, I was repeatedly struck by how much has been achieved during the last year despite the pandemic.  For many of us, myself included at times, 2020 could easily be chalked up as a lost year.  But no, you have moved us forward, making measurable progress in virtually every area we consider to be important.  In this very difficult and demoralizing year, I am so proud to stand with you. #UMMCStrong