April 27: DAILY COVID-19 UPDATE

NEW TODAY: Here’s the latest information about Michigan Medicine’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic:

• DAILY PATIENT STATS
• DAILY TEAM MEMBER TESTING STATS
• MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT MARK SCHLISSEL
• TEAM TOWELS AND SNACKS AVAILABLE TOMORROW
• COVID-19 SUCCESS STORY
• Q&A FROM THE 4/24 TOWN HALL
• #HAILTOTHEFRONTLINE MESSAGES
• ANTIBODY TESTING

DAILY PATIENT STATS

Today’s census for COVID-19 inpatients and those patients under investigation (PUI) are noted below: 

Discharges: 357 total COVID-19 discharges to date, 3 in the last 24 hours.  These numbers include patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities but excludes deaths and discharges to hospice.

Deaths and Hospice: Since March 10, Michigan Medicine hospitals have had 75 total deaths or discharges to hospice, 2 in the last 24 hours. Total death and hospice numbers will be reported on Mondays.

DAILY TEAM MEMBER TESTING STATS*

* Data from 3/10 through 4/27. The testing stats reflect just Michigan Medicine employees, not all University of Michigan employees. It also reflects only those who sought testing at or were hospitalized at Michigan Medicine or reported their testing to Occupational Health Services. Some Michigan Medicine employees may have been tested outside our system.

MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT MARK SCHLISSEL

University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel pays tribute to the entire Michigan Medicine community in a new video that praises team members for their “creativity, innovation, hard work, personal sacrifices and bravery.”  Go to https://youtu.be/TBbZzcvVQf8 to view the brief video.

TEAM TOWELS AND SNACKS AVAILABLE TOMORROW

The Employee Support Group will be in the UH Cafeteria on Tuesday (4/28) distributing donated snacks and the University of Michigan Athletics “The Team” towels to our health care workers. Please feel free to stop by during the three hour blocks: 11 a.m. -2 p.m. or 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Items to be distributed include: “The Team” towels (donated by UM Athletics), Popcorn (donated by Boy Scouts of America), Clif Bars (donated by Clif Bar & Company), Junkless Bars (donated by Junkless Foods), and Visions of the Eagle III books. Read more here.

COVID-19 SUCCESS STORY

Critical care physician Eugene Vovchuk, M.D., did his fellowship training here at Michigan Medicine, but he never expected to be back here as a COVID-19 patient. After 12 days of intubation, overcoming delirium and barely avoiding ECMO, he’s home now with his wife and two young daughters, ages 1 and 3. Dr. Vovchuk gave us permission to share his story, and you can read more on our Michigan Health blog.

Q&A FROM THE 4/24 TOWN HALL

Below are some questions raised during last Friday’s Town Hall, and answers from various leaders.

Q. The number of new cases has dropped before. But it seems that it’s rising again in recent days in Michigan. I’m wondering whether it’s because the number of test kits increased or the epidemic rebounded or any other reasons?

There was a rise in reported cases in Michigan during the week ending April 24.  It is too early to say if this is a true rebound in the epidemic or related to increasing testing across the state, but it was clear that testing rates increased significantly last week and the percent of tests that were positive statewide continued to show slow declines. This suggests that increased testing is playing some role in the increase in new cases.  

Q. There is a lot of talk about deaths due to Coronavirus but what about deaths other than due to COVID-19 – what is the comparison to those numbers? 

In a typical month in Michigan, there are approximately 8,000-8,500 deaths.   During April 2020 in Michigan we will likely see at least 2,500 reported deaths due to COVID-19 alone.  This would mean that COVID-19 would be the leading cause of death in Michigan in April ahead of heart disease (~2,000-2,200), cancer (~750-800) and all other individual causes of death.

Q. Does Gretchen Whitmer’s extension of the SHSF order to May 15 change the dates for Ambulatory Care Ramp Up Staging timeline?

We will be seeing only tier 1 and tier 2 patients by May 15.  The governor’s order will not change the ramp up to tier 2 patients because their risk from the underlying disease progression is greater than the risk of COVID-19 exposure.

Q. As we ramp up, will health care workers be tested for antibodies before they get back to in-person visits?

No.  A serum antibody test will not be available in sufficient quantities by early May to permit testing of health care workers before they return to seeing patients in-person.

For the latest updates and information regarding COVID-19 related activities, refer to the Headlines COVID-19 page.

#HAILTOTHEFRONTLINE MESSAGES

Michigan Medicine has launched a new initiative to display messages of gratitude to our health care workers as part of an extension to our #HailToTheFrontLine campaign. Thanks to the generosity of a grateful donor, we have been able to arrange for our gratitude to be displayed prominently in a number of venues throughout the region, starting this past weekend.

Watch for the new video ad airing on broadcast television during a variety of popular shows including local news broadcasts, Last Man Standing, Today Show, Jeopardy, The Voice, Chicago Fire, and The Bachelor, among others.  You may also see the ad while on various news websites, streaming TV services and social media sites, as well as on YouTube.

A complementary #HailToTheFrontLine message is displaying on a number of billboards around southeast Michigan, as well.

We’ve also produced and distributed a public service announcement video that we’ve provided to television stations to use at their discretion during their dedicated public service video time slots.  A similar radio message is being distributed to radio stations throughout the region.

We are honored to have such an extraordinary team and proud to share our gratitude for your tireless efforts.

ANTIBODY TESTING

There have been many questions about COVID-19 serology (antibody) testing for Michigan Medicine employees. Currently, the Michigan Medicine laboratory is in the process of validating COVID-19 serology testing.

In the coming days, some employees who were previously tested for COVID-19 will have the opportunity to provide a blood sample for COVID-19 serology. In addition, some employees who currently have symptoms and are being tested for COVID-19 will be asked if they wish to voluntarily provide a blood sample at the time of initial testing for COVID-19 and again two weeks later.

Plans for more widespread COVID-19 serology testing for Michigan Medicine workforce members are under development and will be communicated in the future.

Still have questions?

We are also posting all daily bulletins and policies on Michigan Medicine Headlines at https://mmheadlines.org/covid-19-updates/.  Please bookmark that site and refer to it throughout the day for the most up-to-date information. An FAQ for staff is also posted and updated frequently.

If you still can’t find what you’re looking for on these web pages, please email coronavirus-info@med.umich.edu and your question will be answered as quickly as possible.  Do not use this email for sharing patient health information.

Jeffrey Desmond, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer