Five Questions

Good morning!

Since next Friday is Christmas Day, I’m moving the monthly column in which I answer some of your questions to today. But first, I want to say a few things about the exciting events that took place this week.

We experienced a burst of hope when the first group of UMMC front line providers received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. I was really happy that our infectious disease leaders, Dr. Bhagyashri Navalkele, medical director for infection prevention, and Dr. Jason Parham, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, were the first in line. They’ve been working to combat this novel coronavirus longer than anyone else here, and they deserved to be the first to get their “I was vaccinated” stickers.

We needed this in the worst way, and the wave of energy brought by the start of COVID-19 vaccinations on our campus is a very positive byproduct. It feels nice to believe this storm we’ve been under for nearly the entire year CAN have an ending.

When I opened my VC Notes inbox earlier this week for questions related to the vaccine that  could be answered during the virtual town hall meeting I hosted Wednesday, it became obvious you have a LOT of inquiries. We answered some during that livestream, which you can watch here. There are answers to many questions about this vaccine that match other questions you’ve posed in this FAQ document.

Now, on to your questions.

Just as a reminder, I read all your questions and comments and enjoy hearing from you. I’m not able to respond to them all in this space, but I pass the rest along to senior administrators for review and possible action. Please keep your questions and comments coming!

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Q:  With the holiday season upon us, I know many people will be traveling and against recommendations, gathering in large groups with no social distancing. In order to prevent a possible outbreak among staff would it be possible for employees to get tested prior to their travel plans and before returning? I know this is asking a lot. I am just concerned about people returning from the holiday break and potentially being asymptomatic and unknowingly spreading COVID throughout UMMC.

I share your concern about the spread of COVID-19 following a holiday season when families typically travel and congregate together. Many of the concerns other Medical Center leaders and I have were touched on in a Dec. 9 COVID-19 Update Memo. I hope everyone will carefully consider the request in that memo to think about adjusting their personal holiday activities to mirror what we frequently ask you to do as a UMMC employee or student: Avoid non-essential group gatherings. Wear a mask. Practice social distancing. Limit travel to only what is necessary.

Throughout the state and country, COVID-19 continues to spread. The value of testing people who are asymptomatic or who have not had known close contact to a person with COVID-19 is uncertain and could significantly slow down our testing process. Throughout the pandemic we have adopted a policy of testing symptomatic people and anyone who has a COVID-19-positive person in their household. This approach has served us well in maintaining a healthy and effective workforce, and we intend to continue this policy.

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Q:  You are doing a great job staying in touch with the needs and thoughts of UMMC employees but I would like to respectfully request that you write less about COVID-19 and the bleakness of it. We all know it's bad but it’s about time that we hear more about what is good, honorable and right again. It makes me sad to hear from you these days. 

Nothing would make me happier than for COVID-19 to no longer be a topic of discussion in this column or any other setting. I, too, am tired of words like “unprecedented” to describe our current reality. However, COVID-19 still exists and is a significant issue that we deal with daily. It does not appear to be showing any signs of recession. So, for that reason, I will continue to update the UMMC community on the effects of and our response to this pandemic. The availability of the vaccine starting now and into the spring is great news along with the fact that we have treatment options now that were not available six months ago.

In an upcoming VC Notes, I’m planning my annual “look back” on the year – including the highs and the lows. Considering what we’ve been dealing with in 2020, I have a suspicion that COVID-19 may be mentioned a time or two. 

Please refer to last week’s VC Notes where I purposefully spoke to our progress in non-COVID work as a way to remind us all that work is underway that isn’t COVID-19 related.

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Q:  Why is our Quick Care Clinic not taking patients with sinus issues? Mid-November, I contacted Quick Care for an appointment to get relief of sinus issues. I was informed they weren't taking patients with sinus problems. I knew I needed a steroid injection. I was told I could use Telehealth, except there were no appointments available. I ended up going to MEA where I was treated and tested negative for COVID-19. What good would telehealth have been when I had already tried OTC medications? I know with the pandemic, everyone is being careful. I had no COVID-19 symptoms.

I checked with Dr. Shannon Pittman, chair of family medicine, and Margaret Head, chief ambulatory officer for adult hospitals, on your question. 

Out of an abundance of caution and because of the strides made this year in using telehealth for diagnosis, it was decided that any patient displaying symptoms that could be an indication of COVID-19-positive status, like those associated with a possible sinus infection, would first be reviewed through telehealth. Any condition that can be diagnosed and treated remotely saves a clinic visit for a patient who could potentially be infected with COVID-19 and who could possibly expose others to it. This cautious approach is especially important when it comes to health care workers, who make up the bulk of the clinic’s clientele. 

An initial appointment via telehealth allows the provider to assess the patient and identify the appropriate level of care and the best location if in-person treatment is needed. Ms. Head isn’t sure what may have caused your inability to get a telehealth appointment when you tried, because that is not typically an issue for Family Medicine telehealth appointments. We certainly expect this to be an anomaly. If anyone else has this same experience, please let her know.

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Q:  After hearing the press conference and the plea for the population to stay home, why is upper management not encouraging those that work 100% at a computer to work from home? UMMC is pleading to the public to stay home, but do we not do the same for our employees that are able?

I was glad we were able to announce in the Aug. 12 COVID-19 Update Memo that UMMC’s new Remote Work Policy was complete and active. I appreciate the many people who were involved in pushing this ball across the goal, especially Molly Brasfield, chief human resources officer, and her team. Getting this done last summer, in the middle of one of the most active periods we’ve experienced during this pandemic, couldn’t have happened at a better time. To decrease the spread of the virus, we desperately needed to thin out the number of people in our facilities where possible.

This new policy established a pathway for managers to allow their direct reports who meet the criteria for eligibility to work remotely on a temporary or flexible basis. It also opens pathways for managers to establish more permanent remote work arrangements for certain employees. Not everyone is able to enter into this type of working arrangement. Some jobs must be done in person to be able to fulfil the duties of those positions. Determining whether these remote work options are appropriate for each employee is the responsibility of the unit manager. As UMMC employees, we are all considered “essential” and it is at the manager’s discretion, with up-line supervisor input where necessary, to determine which job functions are best positioned for a remote work arrangement.

Employees who feel they should be considered for a remote work arrangement or who desire to enter into such an arrangement are encouraged to speak to their respective managers. The policy is to be implemented whenever useful, and if you believe your job function matches well with a remote work arrangement, I encourage you to look into it.

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Q:  As a daily bus rider, I understood the limitations on bus stops and changes to routes to accommodate construction and the pandemic. Is there an update on when buses will return to their normal routes; specifically, the blue line? It is a long walk from many parts of the hospital to the temporary bus stop, and there is no shelter from the elements there.

Construction associated with the new Sanderson Tower disrupted the planned flow of traffic on the south side of campus for quite some time. I’m so glad that section of campus is back open and I’m especially happy that clinical care is now being provided in that amazing facility.

Shortly after the opening of the Sanderson Tower in early November, the Blue Line was modified to incorporate a new shuttle stop in close proximity to the new tower’s main entrance. In addition, the temporary stop that was placed on West University Drive between University Hospital and the Conerly Critical Care Hospital because of COVID-19-related traffic logistics has been removed from the route. A new temporary stop (#13) is in operation closer to the entrance of University Hospital.

Within the next few months, stop #13 will be moved to its permanent location, just south of the entrance to University Hospital, and a canopy will be built to provide additional shelter from the weather. 

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Thank you for submitting questions.

As I noted last week, I wasn’t 100 percent sure in March 2015 there would be enough content for a fresh VC Notes column each week, but 301 columns later, it seems the topics are endless. This is in large part because of your good questions. Thank you.

I’ll end today’s column with a tweet made Wednesday by UMMC Pharmacy’s Dr. Trey Warnock: “We will finish this how we started it, together. It’s the only way forward.” #UMMCStrong