Physicians go ‘above and beyond’ to combat virus
Miami Hurricanes team physicians have been working to keep UM football players and staff safe from the novel coronavirus since most of the team returned to campus for voluntary workouts last month.
A team approach from University of Miami Sports Medicine Institute is covering all aspects of combating the spread of COVID-19 among the Hurricanes, from education, to constant testing, and proper care in the event of a positive test or symptoms.
“We believe that we have gone above and beyond, actually, what the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommendations are with regards to driving care,” said UHealth’s Dr. Stephen Henry in a phone interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Henry would not reveal if or how many positive tests there have been among UM players, coaches and staff.
“We are going to abide by HIPAA protocol,” he said. “I’m not at the privilege to release or discuss any of that, but what I can tell you, at the end of the day, we are able to provide the continual care to everyone in our community.”
Henry did disclose some of the protocol and procedures in the event of a positive COVID-19 test or if minor symptoms are reported.
A remote monitoring device from Tyto Care allows doctors to examine patients from afar. It records blood pressure and oxygen saturation and temperature and can listen to the patient’s heart and lungs.
“If we’re concerned about a patient, we will give it to them,” Henry said. “If they’re symptomatic, theoretically, if they say to us, ‘I have a fever, Dr. Henry. I’m having some body
aches,’ we can start the monitoring process.
“This is a way to be at the bedside with the patient. If there’s a situation where we see the patient is decompensating, obviously, we’ll escalate to emergency services and managing them appropriately. The key thing with the Tyto is we’re able to monitor them at intervals during the day instead of just a one-time telehealth visit, and then we’ll check in 24 hours later or some kind of a sporadic management.”
Three hundred of the instruments are in the hands of the UM athletic department, thanks to Dr. Roy E. Weiss, the chair of the Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine, and contributions from two donors.
“We have long been proponents of investing in, developing, and using new tools for telehealth,” UM president Julio Frenk said in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated innovation in this space and [Tyto Care co-founder] Dedi Gilad’s Tyto Care home kits add enormous value — giving us the ability to follow up with members of the University community who are in isolation after testing positive or having been exposed to the virus.”
A big selling point is keeping people away from each other, to inhibit the spread of the virus.
“The typical workflow of checking up on our athletes or staff would require them to come to campus,” explained Luis Feigenbaum, senior associate athletics director for performance, health and wellness, in a statement. “So, if we can mitigate
the risk to them and to others by limiting the amount of time outside of quarantine and isolation, that would be a tremendous win for everyone.”
In addition to the medical procedures, Miami’s athletic department will also assure measures such as food delivery and organizing appropriate housing are taken care of for athletes that need to quarantine, according to Henry.
Some athletes live in apartments together. Henry said they don’t necessarily need to separate roommates, but if one tests positive, they can quarantine by following guidelines within their apartment.
With the university planning to have students on campus for the fall semester, students will receive COVID-19 care kits that include basics of the disease, how to manage it, social distancing and what to do in class. There will be combination of virtual and in-person classes, so as to stagger how many people are exposed to one another.
“Plans are in place to really limit large numbers of folks congregating in one area, whether that be signage, constant educational seminars, just really emphasizing the importance of social distancing, wearing a mask and limiting congregation,” Henry said.
Regarding whether he feels there will be a college football season in the fall, Henry said, “We have our finger on the pulse of it, and it’s changing day by day.”
He said communication among schools to create national protocol will be key, and that the University of Miami is active in communicating its experiences up to the Atlantic Coast Conference and on a national level.