Vim & Vigor - Winter 2020 - UVA - 4

RISING to the
OCCASION
Facing a healthcare crisis on a global scale, you and
your UVA Health team went above and beyond
BY KELLY CASEY

2020

has proved to be a
year for the history
books. Our world changed overnight
as a never-before-seen virus quickly
spread. We all had to shift our priorities. Millions of us started working
and learning from home. We came
together-but at a safe distance-to
protect each other's lives. Here's a
glimpse of the unprecedented steps
UVA Health took in the pandemic's
first months to help our community
navigate a quickly changing world.
And how you, the Greater Charlottesville community, rose to the occasion.

In January, UVA researchers who had been
studying viruses that cause the flu and HIV
changed direction to pursue a treatment
and vaccine against this novel coronavirus
that has been fatal for far too many. "A lot of
our research is on emerging infectious diseases, like different strains of influenza," says
Peter Kasson, MD, PhD, who conducts virus
research at UVA. "We saw that COVID-19 was
going to be a big deal and thought we should
get a head start on that. We started preparatory
work to switch over in late January. It changed
for us what we were doing specifically, but
the ideas and the approach we use in fighting
influenza apply to this."
In early March, three days after the first
COVID-19 case was reported in Virginia,
UVA Health took dramatic action by opening
the state's first dedicated evaluation and testing center for the virus. UVA's COVID Clinic
quickly became a resource for area hospitals

and the Virginia Department of Health. When
COVID-19 tests were in short supply nationwide, UVA Health developed its own in-house
test, reducing from days to hours the time to
diagnosis. With social distancing measures in
place, UVA Health providers started seeing
thousands of patients virtually. Elective procedures had to be rescheduled, but the healthcare team stood ready for any urgent health
need, whether related to COVID-19 or not.
In April, UVA Health joined a national
clinical trial to test the effectiveness of an
antiviral drug to potentially help the sickest
COVID-19 patients. Completing a construction project many weeks ahead of schedule,
UVA Health opened an additional 15 ICU
beds to prepare for an expected increasing
number of patients with COVID-19.
To help keep front-line team members safe, UVA Health established
a donation center, and the
Greater Charlottesville community stepped up by donating
essential items such as masks
and hand sanitizer. Community
members also donated food,
and one local couple provided a
favorite snack-kettle popcorn-
to keep up the spirits of UVA team
members caring for COVID-19 patients.
"The outpouring from the community has
been amazing, and it makes a difference," says
Wendy Horton, UVA Health chief operating
officer. "People have sewn cloth masks that
we can use in nonclinical settings, have made
mask straps that help keep staff 's ears from
getting sore, and have been helping with
meals, with child care, with hotel rooms and
so much more." *

WINTER 2020 VIM & VIGOR

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9/21/20 4:01 PM

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2020 - UVA

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