Work Life

We put together a drive-through visitation for a special Memorial Day for our families. No hugs and kisses, but plenty of waves and shouts of “I love you” could be heard. One family brought a new grandbaby for their mother to see. The residents were elated to see their loved ones and we were extremely proud to provide them the opportunity.

— Roderick Watkins (HCM 2014), Administrator, Schmidt Wallace Health Care, Alabaster, AL

The first laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case was diagnosed at one of our urgent care clinics in Snohomish County, Washington. Almost overnight, it felt like we were able to shift focus from growing and optimizing our operations to all hands on deck to protect our patients and Caregivers. Overall, COVID-19 has not only changed the operations of our team (such as working from home) but has also been the catalyst to move our urgent care clinics forward from a technology side (more virtual patients) and with design/workflows.

— Blake Bishop, MBA (HCM 2012), Urgent Care, Growth and Innovation Program Manager, Providence Ambulatory Care Network, Seattle, WA

If you are ever in a crisis or disaster, you want Dr. Sarah Nafziger (MSHA Class E53) to be on your side. As an emergency physician and co-chair of UAB’s Emergency Management Committee, Nafziger is one of the leaders coordinating UAB Hospital’s COVID-19 response. As an Emergency Department physician, she is helping to coordinate clinical protocols to keep patients and staff safe. She is a trusted voice in the medical community, and she often speaks on behalf of UAB Hospital related to emergency response, communicable disease, and disaster-preparedness.

This is our new reality now, and doing these things can help stop and slow the spread. I know we get tired of hearing the best practices mantra but, this is not just another type of flu.

— Dr. Sarah Nafziger (MSHA Class E53), Medical Director of Employee Health at UAB Hospital, Physician Advisor to the UAB Center for Patient Flow

WORK LIFE

Our COVID-19 response at UW-Madison in the Clinical Simulation Program (CSP) began 2 days after in-person education was canceled. We do hands-on donning and doffing PPE training for front line staff that may have to deal with COVID-19 patients. I worked with our Chief Nursing Executive and Chief Clinical Officer to determine how far this need would extend and the curriculum required to get as many learners through as quickly as possible. Essentially the training was 20 minutes long for each learner. Due to physical distancing, we could see up to six learners at a time (18 per hour). Between March 20 and April 15, we facilitated the training of 2,027 UW Health front line staff on donning and doffing of PPE.

— Shannon DiMarco (SIM 2020), Director of Clinical Simulation Program at UW Health, Madison, WI

Dr. Joe Gerald (PhD 2007), Associate Professor & Program Director of Public Health Policy & Management at the University of Arizona College of Public Health was interviewed on MSNBC by Chuck Todd on Meet The Press Daily about the coronavirus outbreak in Arizona.

https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1271195538495549440

Dr. Joe Gerald analyzed forecast models and developed a series of weekly reports to supply policy makers with important data about COVID-19 and its spread in Arizona.

Dr. Nir Menachemi (PhD 2002) was interviewed for the NPR segment - Antibody Tests Point To Lower Death Rate For The Coronavirus Than First Thought. https://apple.news/Arp3IfdyBQJqrP6-RVuGxKg

My department has become the go-to-place for advice, modeling, and research for policy and decision-makers across Indiana. We have worked with our state hospital association to link up with almost every individual hospital in the state — and we have run surge models for hospital CEOs weekly over the past 6-8 weeks. We have trained researchers and public health officials in several other states on how to do so. Also, I was asked by the Governor’s office to design and lead a study involving random sample testing of residents for COVID (both virology and serology). This is the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind in the U.S.

On April 5, I was called up to Active Duty for the Navy in response to COVID-19. As an Expeditionary Medical Facility we helped stand-up and run a COVID-19 only medical center in NYC ran out of the Javits Convention Center. This response or activation was brought forth by a presidential order under Title 10 recall. At Javits, I worked in both operations at the executive level and in a clinical response taking a role within case management. Currently, I am still on Active Duty in Great Lakes, Illinois, working in a COVID-19 response at the Navy’s Recruit Training Command. In this capacity I run a COVID-19 Clinic, which we call respiratory clinic to destigmatize it. In each role, I have seen, experienced, and worked through many opportunities for improvement, leading to a strong functioning operations in each setting.

— John Betts (MSHA Class 53, HQS 2019, MSHQS 2020), Hospital Corpsman at Expeditionary Medical Facility Bethesda - United States Navy

In January of 2020, I was offered an opportunity to join a start-up in Nashville. I accepted the offer and then declined it as my start date approached. I had a gut feeling there was more out there for me. This summer I accepted a role leading Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana, one of 14 commercial plans operated by Anthem, Inc. Each interview and interaction felt right, and the culture of transformation radiated in each question I was asked. Embrace uncertainty. It may provide the stepping stones to live your purpose.

— Beth Keyser (MSHA Class E37), President, BCBS of Indiana, Indianapolis, IN