A Year Like No Other

A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER

2020 was a year like no other, defined by the coronavirus pandemic. Houston Methodist treated our first COVID-19 patient March 6, and the community grappled with the full scope of the pandemic. Houston and Harris County officials declared a health emergency and urged residents to “Stay Home, Work Safe.” The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was canceled. Daycares closed, and schools sent their students home. Working remotely and virtual meetings were the new normal for approximately 4,000 Houston Methodist employees, while others shifted their responsibilities to care for an influx of COVID-19 patients. COVID-19’s economic impact hit Houston hard. Businesses shuttered as crude oil demand and prices plummeted. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, Houston’s upstream energy industry lost nearly one in six jobs during 2020. The metro region’s unemployment rate more than doubled from 3.6% in December 2019 to 8% in December 2020, causing many patients to lose employer-sponsored health insurance. 2020 was also a tumultuous year in national affairs. The killing of George Floyd thrust the Black Lives Matter movement into a global spotlight and spurred social justice demonstrations across the U.S. The nation was further polarized by a contentious presidential election.

Amid the tumult, Houston Methodist was a beacon of resilience. Telemedicine visits skyrocketed from 40 per day before the pandemic to more than 2,000 per day by March 2020 — an increase of 4,900%. Houston Methodist was the first hospital in the U.S. to treat patients with convalescent plasma. We’ve since taken part in 38 COVID-19 clinical trials and became a leader in monoclonal antibody therapy. Our innovative accomplishments landed us in the media spotlight nationally and internationally. Stories about our scientific discoveries using plasma therapy and our clinical trial of the antiviral drug remdesivir reached audiences in the billions. Our medical experts were quoted in news outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, CNN and NPR. Houston Methodist President and CEO Dr. Marc L. Boom was at the forefront, advising state and local government officials. Thanks to his strong leadership, we avoided mass layoffs, involuntary furloughs and pay cuts. Implementing top safety measures, Dr. Boom helped us maintain or return to full operations whenever possible. An outpouring of philanthropic support made our great strides possible, and you’ll read some of these stories in the pages that follow. A total of 1,821 employees and donors supported our COVID-19 Front Line Heroes Appreciation Program through gifts of cash and paid time off. We received over 1,500 in-kind donations of personal protective equipment and meals for our clinical staff from organizations and individuals.

Over 570 benefactors made gifts to help us launch the Houston Methodist Infectious Diseases Collaborative and to create the Center for Infectious Diseases Research. Our ultimate goal is to establish a Center of Excellence in Infectious Diseases, which will be a comprehensive diagnostic, treatment, research and education center. We have administered more than 1 million vaccines at Houston Methodist and treated 25,465 COVID-19 related hospitalized in-patients as of Dec. 1, 2021. We learned so much so quickly in battling COVID-19, but our work doesn’t stop here. In addition to using what we’ve learned from our research discoveries in our efforts to establish the Center of Excellence in Infectious Diseases, we have launched a recovery clinic for discharged COVID-19 “long haulers” who continue to have lingering health issues. Above all, we will continue to keep our patients at the center of everything we do.

2020

LEADING MEDICINE THROUGH COVID-19

JANUARY

21 — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms first U.S. COVID-19 case

31 — The World Health Organization issues global health emergency

FEBRUARY

3 — U.S. declares public health emergency

27 — “Although there are no reported cases of the coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Houston area, there is growing concern in our community about the new virus. . . Right now, the disease’s spread outside of China has been limited, but we have begun to see other countries with significant numbers of cases. It is still too early to tell how far the coronavirus will spread globally or for how long. Regardless, at Houston Methodist we are prepared if a potential coronavirus patient arrives at any of our EDs.” – Dr. Marc Boom, Houston Methodist president and CEO, president’s letter

MARCH

4 — Confirmed COVID-19 case in Fort Bend County is the first in Houston area

5 — First positive COVID-19 test result at Houston Methodist

11 — WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic

13 — President Trump declares COVID-19 a national emergency

13 — Houston and Harris County issue “Stay Home, Work Safe” order

18 — Infectious Diseases Research Fund matching challenge begins (see page 10)

19 — More than 1,000 virtual urgent care and telemedicine MyChart visits occurred for the second day in a row, and the new virtual ICU now assists providers monitoring COVID-19 patients (see page 40)

28 — Houston Methodist becomes the first academic medical center in the nation to infuse critically ill COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma

APRIL

17 — Town Hall Conversation I with Dr. Marc Boom

21 — Houston Methodist COVID-19 Front Line Heroes Appreciation Program announced (see page 12)

28 — U.S. surpasses 1 million COVID-19 cases

MAY

5 — First #GivingTuesdayNow international day of philanthropy supporting COVID-19 relief

7 — Town Hall Conversation II with Dr. Marc Boom

19 — 95 COVID-19 patients in Houston Methodist hospitals

27 — Dr. Marc Boom announces Houston Methodist’s five guiding principles for the remainder of 2020: 1. Houston Methodist will be the safest hospital system in the world. 2. Volumes will be back to normal by July 1. 3. We’ll achieve at least breakeven by the end of the year. 4. We’ll maintain full operations if we see another COVID-19 surge. 5. We’ll avoid furloughs, layoffs and pay cuts.

JUNE

10 — U.S. surpasses 2 million COVID-19 cases

11 — Town Hall Conversation III with Dr. Marc Boom

19 — Harris County starts mandating all businesses require employees and visitors to wear a mask

24 — 324 COVID-19 patients in Houston Methodist hospitals

26 — “The time is now for everybody to dramatically change their behaviors to get this virus under control so that our hospitals are able to handle this.” –Dr. Marc Boom on NPR

29 — “We are definitely seeing this affect young people, and they’re getting quite ill,” says Dr. Marc Boom, speaking on having about 60% of COVID-19 patients under the age of 50. – CNBC’s Squawk Box

JULY

3 — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order requiring face coverings goes into effect

7 — U.S. surpasses 3 million COVID-19 cases

11 — “We have learned a lot. We’ve gotten a lot better. We have improved a lot.” – Dr. Faisal Masud on CNN about lessons learned since the first surge

15 — Town Hall Conversation IV with Dr. Marc Boom

15 — 701 COVID-19 patients in Houston Methodist hospitals

AUGUST

9 — U.S. surpasses 5 million COVID-19 cases

10 — “Inside the Fight to Save Houston’s Most Vulnerable” New York Times reporters and cameras are given exclusive access to the COVID-19 medical ICU at Houston Methodist Hospital

12 — Drs. Eric Salazar and James Musser publish one of the first peer-reviewed publications in the country assessing the efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy

17 — Town Hall Conversation V with Dr. Marc Boom

23 — Convalescent plasma is cleared for the treatment of COVID-19 by the FDA

Musser is overseeing the trial of convalescent plasma at Houston Methodist that first reported the reduction in mortality among plasma recipients.

SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER

11 — Town Hall Conversation VI with Dr. Marc Boom

15 — Dr. Eric Salazar was selected by NBC News as one of 10 Latino health care heroes on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic

17 — 150 COVID-19 patients in Houston Methodist hospitals

18 — Roberta Schwartz and Dr. Faisal Masud speak about ways that Houston Methodist is preparing to treat COVID-19 patients this fall. – Wall Street Journal

23 — The Washington Post highlights findings from Dr. James Musser’s lab on the largest U.S. genetic study thus far of the COVID-19 virus, documenting 5,085 sequences of the virus that are mutating and potentially evolving amid rapid U.S. spread

25 — U.S. surpasses 7 million COVID-19 cases

28 — Global COVID-19 deaths surpass 1 million people

OCTOBER

3 — Dr. Faisal Masud and Research Institute President and CEO Ed Jones are quoted on the Houston Chronicle’s front page story about President Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment

[Following President Trump's Regeneron antibody treatment] “more patients are asking to participate in an antibody trial.” says Dr. Dirk Sostman.

14 — Town Hall Conversation VII with Dr. Marc Boom

16 — U.S. surpasses 8 million COVID-19 cases

22 — FDA approves remdesivir as the first COVID-19 drug treatment

26 — Dr. Corinna Keenmon discusses signs of mental health problems and strategies to reduce stress as COVID-19 cases climb once again. – Healthline

NOVEMBER

4 — U.S. reports over 100,000 new COVID-19 cases in single day

9 — U.S. surpasses 10 million COVID-19 cases

18 — 280 COVID-19 patients in Houston Methodist hospitals

19 — Town Hall Conversation VIII with Dr. Marc Boom

27 — U.S. surpasses 13 million COVID-19 cases

27 — Dr. Thomas MacGillivray and one of his patients, Thomas Steele, share Mr. Steele’s severe COVID-19 experience resulting in a double lung transplant — the first performed at Houston Methodist and one of a handful in Texas. – Houston Chronicle

DECEMBER

1 — 200-plus Houston Methodist donors participate in #GivingTuesday in support of the Infectious Diseases Research Fund

10 — Town Hall Conversation IX with Dr. Marc Boom

11 — FDA granted EUA for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

31 – “Campaign for Our Second Century” concludes two years early, surpassing goal (see page 64)

15 — First Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine administered by Houston Methodist

27 — U.S. surpasses 19 million COVID-19 cases

31 — 575 COVID-19 patients in Houston Methodist hospitals