An incident command team assembled in March 2020 to guide MU Health Care through COVID-19 is returning to normal operations, a sign that the pandemic is now putting fewer pressures on health care workers and facilities.
A “sunsetting” of MU Health Care’s COVID-19 Incident Command Team is underway, Jonathan Curtright, MU Health Care chief executive officer, told members of the UM System Board of Curators Health Affairs Committee during a meeting Thursday afternoon. Sunsetting is a term generally used to describe the expiration of a government program or agency.
“We must manage COVID-19 within normal clinical practice,” Curtright said, “no different than we handle any other aspect of health care moving forward.”
The incident command was initially tasked with coordinating and preparing once COVID-19 reached the mid-Missouri area, and it has been responding to the demands of the pandemic for the past 20 months.
Upon its formation, incident command initially met on a daily basis, but over time it has transitioned to less frequent meetings as the demands of the pandemic have lessened, with the team only meeting once a week for the past six months, MU Health Care spokesperson Jesslyn Chew said.
With the surge of cases declining, the structure of the incident command remains in place, but its members will now just engage in electronic communication and can schedule an in-person meeting if needed.
“It is a reminder to me of what we can do if we have focus and alignment and outstanding direction,” Curtright said.
Curtright said MU Health Care will still remain diligent in its pandemic response in light of the change. “We will stay agile, we will stay nimble and we’ll move forward as necessary,” he said.
Health affair leaders also expressed anticipation for the Nov. 16 “move day” in which pediatric emergency services and several other functions are scheduled to move out of the Women and Children’s Hospital to University Hospital campus.
The Missourian previously reported on the moving of the children’s emergency room in September.
Along with the current services, the new location will offer an expanded kid-friendly space. It will also include child life services and a facility dog. The new space will be solely dedicated to children with kid-specific care teams, equipment and décor.
The seven services affected by the relocation include:
• Pediatric Inpatient Unit
• Pediatric Surgery
• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
• Pediatric Emergency Services
• Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorder Unit (CBCU)
• Pediatric EEG
• Children’s Hospital Procedure Suite (CHPS)
“Pediatric patients can expect the same high level of care from mid-Missouri’s only pediatric emergency team with doctors and nurses specially trained to care for kids,” Matthew Robinson, an emergency physician and leader of the Emergency Medicine team at MU Health Care, said in a news release.
Curtright acknowledged the move comes with challenges, though he anticipates a positive outcome.
“I liken it to moving in with your parents while your house is being built,” said Curtright. “It’s going to be a little bit of a challenge, but we’re going to get there, and in many cases, we’re actually going to be able to increase the number of facilities and amount of space that exists compared to the Women and Children’s Hospital.”
The move is one of the first steps toward developing a centralized hospital campus. A new tower to house its Children’s Hospital and Birthing Center is scheduled to be completed by summer 2024 on the main MU Health Care campus, according to the release.
The committee meeting comes a week before the final Board of Curators meeting of the year, which is scheduled for Nov. 18 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus.
