{"id":579,"date":"2020-06-09T21:58:39","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T21:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/?p=579"},"modified":"2020-06-16T16:36:37","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T16:36:37","slug":"frontline-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2020\/featured-stories\/frontline-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"Frontline Heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"580\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2020\/featured-stories\/frontline-heroes\/attachment\/frontline_600x300\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/FrontLine_600x300.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"600,300\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/FrontLine_600x300-300x150.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/FrontLine_600x300.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-580\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/FrontLine_600x300.jpg\" alt=\"FrontLine_600x300\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/FrontLine_600x300.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/FrontLine_600x300-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/>PABLO &#8220;PJ&#8221; VASQUEZ, MBA &#8217;02<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Coming off of his regular night shift for Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, nurse administrator Pablo \u201cPJ\u201d Vasquez, MBA \u201902, readied himself for an urgent COVID-19 reassignment. Vasquez had just agreed to lead the rapid development of a dedicated Highly Infectious Disease Unit, or HIDU, at Methodist\u2019s Continuing Care Hospital in Katy. Less than a week later, the trusted operations manager had two of the three HIDUs up and running. The third unit, bringing the total number of beds to 65, remains an option should admissions spike.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Seeing the Clinical and\u00a0Non-Clinical Picture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Vasquez said his MBA in Health Care Administration allows him to see the big picture in his field and bridge vital aspects of it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor every bedside provider like nurses, there are 10 non-clinical colleagues who support us,\u201d Vasquez said. \u201cI help to translate the clinical operation needs to the professionals who are behind the scenes making the operations happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the case of the HIDU project, Vasquez determined its scope, then calculated equipment needs and staffing numbers. He assembled and built a qualified, collaborative 100-member team.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Selecting Midwives to\u00a0the Soul<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Among highly skilled nurse volunteers, he chose those who also demonstrated comfort in their role as \u201cmidwives to the soul.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe knew that the caregivers in our unit would be called upon to help some patients with a dignified, peaceful transition as they passed away,\u201d Vasquez said. \u201cThey would need to offer solace to the families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But nurses need support as well, and providing that support is one of his roles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn nursing leadership, I see staff as my patients,\u201d he said. \u201cI take care of them so they can take care of patients. I make sure they feel confident and have what they need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ongoing Challenges &amp; Heartening Observations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Going forward in these tender times, Vasquez acknowledges the hurdles. One is making sure that all equipment and supplies continue to be on hand when needed. Another challenge is dealing with the unknown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re still learning about COVID-19,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would be great to know when we can confidently say that someone is no longer infectious. In South Korea, cases that went dormant have appeared to reactivate and become infectious again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And nobody can say how long the novel coronavirus battle is going to last. Still, Vasquez reports some heartening observations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most surprising thing this pandemic has affirmed is the remarkability of human beings for our resilience and ingenuity and willingness to unite for a common cause.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>MBA @ UST \/\/ For information about the MBA program at University of St. Thomas,\u00a0visit: <a href=\"http:\/\/stthom.edu\/MBA\">stthom.edu\/MBA<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>LAUREN FERNANDEZ-MILLER, BSN &#8217;19<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From the frontlines of COVID-19, nurse Lauren Fernandez-Miller, BSN \u201919, jumped at UST\u2019s offer to stay in campus housing. She had already moved in with friends to keep her immune-suppressed mother safe, but the thought of unwittingly taking COVID-19 to her new roommates was worrisome as well.<\/p>\n<p>She cares for patients in a dedicated COVID-19 ICU at Baylor St. Luke\u2019s Medical Center in the Texas Medical Center. The beds are almost full. Most of the patients are on ventilators or sedated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not nervous for myself,\u201d Fernandez-Miller said. \u201cI just don\u2019t want to give it to someone else if I don\u2019t feel any symptoms and transmit. With the UST dorm room, I can just stay in the dorm and go to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before she learned that the University was making 90 residence hall rooms available to staff at three area hospitals, Fernandez-Miller heard about medical colleagues who were shielding their loved ones by staying in short-term lodging like Airbnbs or having their children move in with grandparents.<\/p>\n<p><strong>IDEAL LOCATION NEAR TMC<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Already fulfilling a regular shift in the medical battle, this bedside soldier sees the UST housing as a way for her to do even more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom UST, it only takes 10 minutes to get to the Texas Medical Center. Being so close to the hospital means I can put myself on the schedule for extra shifts to help out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fernandez-Miller is grateful for the education and clinical training she received through UST\u2019s nursing program.<\/p>\n<p>Still in her first year as a registered nurse, she points out that 2020 was named Year of the Nurse by the World Health Organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd what an extraordinary year it is to be recognized,\u201d she observed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DOING WHAT SHE LOVES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The young medical professional chose nursing because of her love of science and strong desire to directly help people who are sick. Those she\u2019s caring for now are fighting for their lives.<\/p>\n<p>ROOMS AVAILABLE: To find out more about UST\u2019s dorm rooms for medical personnel,\u00a0email: <a href=\"mailto:RoomsforHeroes@stthom.edu\"><strong>RoomsforHeroes@stthom.edu<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the frontlines of Covid-19, some of UST\u2019s MBA and nursing program alumni are leading highly infectious disease units and filling crucial, high-risk roles at the bedside. Read about their expertise and bold commitment to caring for the sick. Also, learn how a frontline nurse jumped at UST\u2019s offer to stay in campus housing to keep her immune-suppressed mother and friends safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[272,253,249,251,252,250,273,11,254],"class_list":["post-579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-featured-stories","tag-272","tag-caregiver","tag-covid-19","tag-dorm","tag-frontlines","tag-nurse","tag-summer-2020-issue","tag-summer-issue","tag-virus"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Frontline Heroes - Encounter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2020\/featured-stories\/frontline-heroes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Frontline Heroes - Encounter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From the frontlines of Covid-19, some of UST\u2019s MBA and nursing program alumni are leading highly infectious disease units and filling crucial, high-risk roles at the bedside. 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