Student Life

My simulation center provided just in time training for ICU, anesthesia, emergency room and Labor and Delivery staff for new policies regarding intubations and codes in positive or suspected COVID patients. We also worked with ICU clinicians to develop a procedure for proning intubated patients when there were no more Roto-beds available. Our hospital put together a team to develop processes to keep staff safe and protected while caring for COVID patients. This was a fluid process as new information was being added every day. We realized some of the guidelines were not practical and used staff feedback to revise some of our processes. We ran these simulations for the intensive care unit, emergency department, and labor and delivery. Critical care physicians, anesthesiologists, emergency medicine, nursing and respiratory at all three campuses participated.

— Debra A. Wakeham, MEd, RRT (SIM 2020) Simulation Operations Coordinator at Northside Hospital, Atlanta, GA

Feeding Our Frontlines

Through a partnership with Frontline Foods, students in the MSHA program are independently supporting local clinicians in the fight to keep our communities safe, while also supporting Birmingham’s local restaurant industry.

The program was started by Christina Fortugno (MSHA Class 54), and Bradley Tipper, (MSHA Class 54, MSHI 2020). Sarah Newbern (MSHA Class 55) and Makena Boyd (MSHA Class 55, MSHI 2021) have taken over the Frontline Foods Alabama chapter. They are now formally recognized as the Alabama Chapter of Frontline Foods Volunteer Corps for World Central Kitchen. They have recruited seven additional members and were just approved for a $25,000 grant.

We are so inspired by the efforts of these leaders, they identified what was needed and went to work to fill those needs in our community — the fact that this helps both frontline caregivers and local restaurants is a fabulous ‘synergy’ that everyone can relate to. This is what servant leadership looks like. It’s great to see the students take charge in this way.

— Christy Harris Lemak, PhD Chair, UAB Department of Health Services Administration

Our 2020 AMIA Student Design Challenge team, the Blazer Data Wranglers, advanced to the finals of a COVID-19 Data Science Hackathon: ◗ Hope Gray, MTS, BCC (PhD-HI) Team Leader ◗ Shafiqul Islam, MSMIS, PMP1, (MSHI 2021) ◗ Carole Richardson, PharmD, BCPS1, (MSHI 2021) ◗ Christian Stackhouse, BASc (BMD) We collected and analyzed data about the COVID-19 Disease Burden and Comorbidities in African-American Patients at UAB. We submitted a COVID-19 public health surveillance design for American Medical Informatics Association student design challenge.

Heather Bradley (MSHQS 2020), Senior Director of Ambulatory Care Transitions for UAB Medicine, saw homeless shelters throughout Birmingham overwhelmed with referral requests. She designated four team members to handle transitioning patients and joined weekly calls with shelter directors to establish a protocol for discharging patients and educating them on protective measures — creating a smoother transition process and ensuring that shelters are practicing social distancing and self-quarantining.

HSA DSc in Healthcare Leadership Students Find Support from Fellow Classmates

Brian Tew (3rd Year DSc student), CEO of Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown, New York, was among the first in his cohort to face the challenges that have since spread throughout the country. Tew initiated a real-time email exchange with his classmates where he shared strategies, challenges and resources he found to be valuable from a clinical and management perspective. "We saw our first patient on March 10th, within days our patient services and staffing models had changed entirely. There were a thousand decision points made and I felt an urgency to share what was working for us with my fellow students." Ginger Henry (2nd Year DSc student), COO of Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, Alabama, quickly engaged in the valuable dialogue among a network of peer executives who, outside of the executive doctoral program, might never have an opportunity to interact. "I never would have imagined how important it would be as we face the biggest challenge of our careers. The connections we have made will last a lifetime and I appreciate having experts around the country to share ideas and challenges with during COVID and beyond. We are better when we learn and share together."