The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our way of life – at least for the foreseeable future – but it has not changed the Warrior spirit of our students, our faculty and our staff.
The natural focus on the tragic and the unknown commands our attention, but amidst this anxiety and confusion are ongoing stories about efforts by the School of Medicine community to pitch in when and where it can to address the pandemic, whether it’s on the front lines in our affiliated hospitals or behind the scenes in many other ways.
Our faculty physicians are to be saluted for their tireless work to provide care for patients, toiling in emergency rooms, medical wards, intensive care units and pathology labs. Their committed service to medicine and the people of greater Detroit despite concerns for their own safety and that of their families is emblematic of who we are and what we do at Wayne State University.
Our research faculty donated vitally-needed personal protective equipment from their labs to be distributed to the hospitals in which we serve and train. They also worked with researchers across the campus to produce more than 45 gallons of hand sanitizer, which was then distributed to the Wayne State University and Detroit Police departments on March 24. Linda Hazlett, Ph.D., vice dean of Research and Graduate Programs, has been working endlessly to coordinate efforts to ramp down research if that decision comes about, as well as coordinating PPE donations from our researchers.
Faculty also stepped up to volunteer for two drive-through COVID-19 testing sites provided by the Wayne State University Physician Group, in partnership with ACCESS. That effort, led by Phillip Levy, M.D., M.P.H., chief innovation officer of WSUPG, professor of Emergency Medicine and assistant vice president of Translational Science and Clinical Research Innovation for Wayne State University, and Teena Chopra, M.D., professor of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and corporate medical director of Infection Prevention, Hospital Epidemiology and Antibiotic Stewardship for WSU and the Detroit Medical Center, has so far tested more than 1,300 police officers, firefighters and health care workers at no cost. Charles Shanley, M.D., president and chief executive officer of WSUPG, and vice dean of Clinical Affairs, has wholeheartedly supported the free testing for first responders, providing both people and equipment, because he deeply understands the importance of keeping these vital and essential personnel healthy as they serve the community. Testing continues at WSUPG’s headquarters at 400 Mack Ave. and at the ACCESS Community Health and Research Center, 6450 Maple St. in Dearborn.
In addition to the medical demands placed upon her, Dr. Chopra has been a one-woman powerhouse in terms of public affairs, giving untold interviews with local, statewide and national media, providing important factual information to millions of readers and viewers about the virus and necessary precautions.
Professor Cynthia Aaron, M.D., and her staff at the Michigan Poison Center have also provided critical factual information about the inherent dangers of taking certain anti-malarial drugs in an attempt to ward off COVID-19 and the need to not hoard those drugs to the detriment of those who need them for prescribed purposes. They have also provided safety precautions about the proper use of disinfectants, because the center has seen the number of calls related to exposure to such chemicals double in the last two weeks.
Margit Chadwell, M.D., associate dean of Student Affairs and Career Development; Christopher Steffes, M.D., assistant dean of Clinical Education; and Senthil Rajasekaran, M.D., senior associate dean for Curricular Affairs and Undergraduate Medical Education, and their staff members have been working around the clock to keep students apprised of changes in guidelines for clinical rotations and adaptations they are incorporating to ensure medical education continues in the face of the pandemic. In addition to numerous communications, they, with the assistance of university web developers, have created a webpage to keep students and faculty abreast of the latest guidelines and changes. Tsveti Markova, M.D., associate dean of Graduate Medical Education and chair of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, and her staff have kept pace doing the same in advising the residents in our programs about this new frontier.
As if he wasn’t busy enough, Dr. Levy, along with Brian O’Neil, M.D., chair of Emergency Medicine, are now collaborating with colleagues at Henry Ford Health Systems, Ascension Michigan, Beaumont Health and the Detroit Medical Center to bring large-scale COVID-19 drug trials to southeast Michigan.
And, we all are rightly so proud of our students, whose lives have perhaps been most affected by this virus. In true Warrior M.D. spirit, they have looked for avenues to assist in many different ways. While current guidelines from the Association of American Medical Colleges required us to pull students from clinical rotations in the hospitals, they continue to volunteer their services in roles others may not have thought of, including offering to provide day care for the children of exhausted physicians, all while working to continue their educations, juggling exam dates and locales, and worrying about their own families. They not only continue to seek out opportunities to assist, they are utilizing this pandemic as a frontline educational experience as valued members of the nation’s health care team.
I could not be prouder of all of your efforts in our community’s time of need.
Jack D. Sobel, M.D.
Dean
Distinguished Professor
Wayne State University School of Medicine