Author: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu
In less than a week, the second field hospital at the University of Mississippi Medical Center will open in the parking lot. UMMC leaders stood in the parking lot and lamented the state's response to COVID-19.
"It doesn't have to be this way," Dr. LouAnn Woodward, the vice president for health affairs and dean of the medical school, told attendees at a press conference on Tuesday.
COVID-19 patients in Mississippi, including some of the most severely ill, will receive care in the Samaritan wallet to be opened at UMMC's Jackson campus tomorrow. It added a 20-bed federal field hospital in another parking lot that opened on Friday.
After a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred on August 14, the Samaritan Relief, a Christian organization known for disaster relief, also provided a field hospital in Haiti.
"This is a natural disaster in Haiti," Woodward said. "Their response in Mississippi was our own disaster. As a nation, we failed to respond to common threats in a unified way. We failed to use what we must protect ourselves, protect our families, protect our children, and protect Tools of our country."
She said that these tools are vaccinations, wearing masks, maintaining hand hygiene and maintaining social distancing when eligible.
She said: "We have been told time and again that the best way is to get rid of this situation and make sure that the next variant will not be worse, which is to vaccinate and stop this surge."
Today, MSDH has reported 3,323 new cases of COVID-19. At UMMC, there are 139 confirmed or suspected hospitalized COVID-19 cases, including 119 adult patients and 20 children.
Edward Graham, assistant vice president of the Samaritan Wallet Project and Government Relations, said the organization's assistance was requested by the governor's office.
Graham said: "Our hospitals have provided services in many places around the world, but for COVID, we first provided services in Italy, and then mainly in the United States and the Bahamas." "I hope we will be in different situations. to here."
The adult patient field hospital has 32 beds and is located in the parking lot next to the Mississippi Children's Hospital. It includes 5 intensive care beds and 27 beds for low vision patients. It will be equipped with a medical team from the Samaritan Rescue Association, including doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and support staff.
"I want to thank Samaritan's Purse for coming to Mississippi and helping us deal with this disaster," Woodward said. "I also want to thank the people behind the scenes for making this happen."
Stephen McRaney, Executive Director of the Mississippi State Emergency Management Agency, thanked the organization for helping to increase the medical professionals needed during the COVID-19 surge.
"This means a lot to the people of Mississippi," he said. "As we all know, in our hospital, our nursing staff and medical staff are relatively small."
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Samaritan's Purse has opened five similar field hospitals around the world, including New York and Los Angeles County, to support the local health system.
UMMC opened two field hospitals in less than a week, demonstrating the terrible state of a surge in Delta variants of COVID-19 in Mississippi.
“As far as the state’s hospital system is concerned, we are standing in the middle of a garage with a field hospital. I think it’s self-evident,” said Dr. Alan Jones, vice president for clinical affairs, who welcomed the field hospital and Additional staff to manage them.
He said: "In terms of being able to give the hospital a breather, it will be a huge help, and I hope to see these numbers drop."
An outpatient monoclonal antibody clinic opened today near the Federal Field Hospital.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said that those with COVID-19 should discuss MAB treatment with their doctor. "It can save your life."
To make an appointment, visit the UMMC COVID MAB treatment website. The Mississippi Department of Health provides information on monoclonal antibodies on its website and a list of hospitals and clinics throughout the state that provide this treatment.
Dr. Elliot Tenpenny, head of Samaritan's Purse International Health Department, has been part of the opening of field hospitals throughout the pandemic.
"It feels more like a tragedy now," he said. "What we see in Italy and New York is that COVID is ravaging people who are 70 or 80 years old, and there are many pre-existing diseases. What we see in this variant is that people who are 40 years old are intubated and in the ICU. This is Things we have never seen in 2020."
Graham is the grandson of the late evangelist Billy Graham and the son of Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelism Association and Samaritan Wallet, encouraging Mississippi’s People of faith “care about those who are in a more disadvantaged position. Do the right thing and get vaccinated.”
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