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COVID-19 UPDATE

A Year Like

None Other:

UT Health San Antonio Reflects on Lessons Learned

from the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Robert Leverence, MD

Although COVID-19 is destined to become a part of our lives like maybe it is time to add pandemic preparation to the growing list of
influenza, it appears its pandemic days are numbered. So, the tempta- preventive health services now embedded in our health care system.
tion for us is to block it out of our minds and look forward to brighter
days. However, in the wake of what came to be a devastating public In brief, here are the lessons learned as I helped direct the
health crisis and the fact experts say it surely will not be our last, it will clinical COVID response at our academic health center.
be important for us to record the lessons learned from this first mod- 1. Know the purpose and structure of an Emergency Operation Cen-
ern-day world pandemic. ter (EOC). EOCs can take on many forms and ours took on a
UT Health San Antonio was privileged to play a role in the “wheel and spokes” structure with health science center leaders at
COVID-19 pandemic, as I believe any academic health science center the hub meeting on a regular basis. Regular cross talk with other
should. Not only do these institutions harbor the expertise needed to partners such as University Hospital (UH), Metro Health, South
help direct care, but they also behold the clinical resources and capac- Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC)/Regional Medical
ity for testing, vaccinating and caring for large populations. They also Operations Center (RMOC) and the VA Medical Center formed
have the research talent to discover effective treatments and the edu- the spokes and were essential to achieving our mission. The nature
cational and marketing support to help communicate the needed be- and frequency of these meetings and communication venues also
havior changes inherent in any pandemic. constantly evolved as circumstances changed.
Perhaps the most important lesson learned during the COVID pan-
demic was that nothing in my medical or administrative training pre- 2. Understand the significance and role of Crisis Standards of Care.
pared me for the crisis management it demanded. I do not recall even These protocols are something one never hopes to use, but are es-
a single class or lecture on the topic. Before COVID-19, I was not sential in supporting the frontline health care worker in the event
even familiar with basic terms like EOC or Crisis Standards of Care. of an overwhelming number of casualties. Thanks to STRAC and
Fortunately, I had access to the resources of the UTHSA Military faculty from UT Health Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics,
Health Institute which quickly educated me on these vital concepts. we were able to put these protocols together early in the pandemic.
However, this type of support is not widely available. Consequently, Fortunately, they were never needed here in San Antonio.

14 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • July 2021