Auxiliary fighters

As the novel coronavirus swept the world, health careworkers formed the front line in the war on COVID-19 and UMass Medical School students forged their own volunteer brigade to contribute.

A rapidly formed volunteer student task force fitted more than 1,000 health care workers for respirators, trained 800 physicians and staff on how to connect with patients through video conferencing, and coordinated health care for 5,000 Worcester Free Care Collaborative patients. These School of Medicine and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences students issued a call to action in mid-March, when the pandemic emptied schools—including UMass Medical School—and businesses and began filling hospital beds.

“A group of students designed a COVID-19 task force right around the time UMass Medical School moved to remote working and learning,” said Sean Teebagy, SOM ’23, co-leader of the taskforce. “We found a means to come together, form a system,combine our thoughts and make an impact.”

Within days of the new initiative, students mobilized to collect PPE for health care providers across the Worcester area. The group rounded up more than 30 volunteers, reaching out to every area resource they could identify to get donations. With the help of both UMMS and local labs, as well as the Office of Student Life, the group gathered nearly 1,500 N95 masks and more than 20,000 pairs of gloves in five days.

“In the beginning of our efforts, we treated it as a sprint. It clearly turned into a marathon,” Teebagy said. “We realized that we needed to carefully think out our initiatives while keeping things moving.”

Each project had to receive administrative approval before it was executed, requiring the students to work closely with their faculty advisors. The team’s PPE collection efforts were done under the guidance of Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the School of Medicine.

“Our guiding principles have been to maximize the safety of our student volunteers, while providing opportunities for them to channel their tremendous enthusiasm to be a positive force for good in our community,” said Dean Flotte. “As these efforts have gone on, I have been impressed by the unselfishness and leadership skills of our amazing students.”

The team pushed forward. A flow of ideas continued in the weeks following PPE collection, as the effort generated interest from more student volunteers. Virtual meetings once a week and a shared online document kept members informed, maintaining an organized platform for projects and outreach ideas.

Timothy Winn, SOM ’22, a member of the UMMS Student Body Committee, also served as a task force co-leader, and helped organize another fundamental project, helping clinicians properly fit their respirators.

“Forty volunteers stepped up within a few hours of the project kicking off,” said Winn. “We held a Zoom training with Environmental Health and Safety, who taught the students how to properly fit the respirators. By the end of two weeks, we had more than 1,000 clinicians fitted. It was humbling to know these essential workers would go to their COVID-19 floors with safe protection.”

“It was important for us to create projects that facilitate the work of health care professionals and benefit their wellbeing and mental health. Even one small gesture can have a major impact,” said Calvin Schaffer, SOM ’23, a task force co-leader. Working in partnership with co-leader Elya Reznichenko, SOM ’22, the task force maintained an ongoing project called “Snacks for Staff,” collecting hundreds of food boxes for employees at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

“These are people who can’t always run out for a break when they need one. They were so grateful,” Schaffer said.

Fostering initiatives outside of Central Massachusetts, Schaffer and fellow students on the PURCH track (Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health) organized a number of projects that supported the Springfield community, such as addressing PPE shortages, food access and senior center outreach.

Prioritizing the dire need for supplies at medical facilities, six GSBS students made roughly 265 gallons of hand sanitizer in April to sustain local hospitals. The project was led by MD/PhD candidates Peter Cruz-Gordillo and Tomás Rodríguez, in conjunction with Environmental Health and Safety and Environmental Building Services.

“Hand sanitizer is expensive at a time like this, and we were able to bring it down to a quarter of the cost,” said Rodriguez. “We held several rounds of production and are pleased that we could contribute something that staff need to use regularly. It didn’t take long for our group to recognize the problem, and join forces to pitch in.”

MD/PhD student Peter Cruz-Gordillo in the lab preparing hand sanitizer for local hospital use.

Members of the UMMS and Worcester communities participate in a ‘Zoomathon’ fundraiser to support UMass Memorial’s DCU field hospital.

Telehealth, an online system allowing live-video conferences for medical appointments, became vital as the virus made in-person office visits nearly impossible. A group of SOM students on the task force taught clinicians how to use telehealth. In April, the group trained roughly 80 student volunteers, who then trained more than 800 administrators and providers from more than 60 UMass Memorial Health Care clinical sites.

“We trained the administrators to download the application, so they were equipped to show patients how to use it,” said Schaffer. “It took a lot of flexibility on our end due to lots of technical issues, but we made it happen. We got an educational experience out of it while knowing we were benefiting providers.”

The Worcester Free Care Collaborative, a coalition of free clinics providing basic health care to low-income and uninsured residents, also became reliant on telehealth to serve patients. Each site is staffed by volunteer nurses and physicians, as well as UMMS students who help with organization and management. Mina Botros, SOM ’23, is co-president of the collaborative. He and the other collaborative leaders created a system for student volunteers to organize telehealth consultations, assist in managing patient files and continue providing care.

“We started a patient outreach project where we collected close to 5,000 patient charts. Our team of about 40 student volunteers would go through the charts and figure out what medications and follow-up the patients needed, and any possible treatments coming up. From there, we would call the patients to check in, and let them know we were ready to support them,” Botros said.

A similar initiative organized by Kristina Jakobson, SOM ’23, and Sara Carbone, SOM ’22, recruited students to make calls to senior citizens through the Worcester Senior Center. They expanded their outreach to Springfield’s senior center as well, working closely with students on the PURCH track.

“Students pursuing medical careers want to be involved in any shape or form when it comes to patients. The geriatric population is the most vulnerable right now, and we thought this would be manageable since we would not be in person, putting them at risk,” said Jakobson.

“We made calls to seniors who are isolated and live alone. We checked in, made sure they had access to food and medication, or had other nonessential health concerns. It was very efficient; we paired 30 students with 30 seniors and made about 80 calls in April alone,” said Carbone.

Mark Miceli, EdD, assistant vice provost for student life and director of student affairs for the SOM, served as a liaison between the student task force and administrators.

“Their energy was powerful right from the beginning. This proved to be a meaningful learning experience for them, helping shape them into the strong medical professionals they will be in the future,” Miceli said. ■

By Kylee Denesha