[Inaudible] Hi, I'm Dana Jay, and this is Henry Ford Health System News.
We're back with more stories about how our team members are living our values of
compassion, innovation, respect, and results.
We're going to start this time by spotlighting a group of team members who
typically travel the world,
making sure vulnerable communities have access to healthcare.
Lately their travels have kept them much closer to home
and as busy as ever. In February,
2020 as COVID was grounding travelers members of the Henry Ford Global Health
Initiative team were returning from overseas.
John Zervos had been in Latin America.
My team was in Columbia building partnerships, both in oncology and cardiology,
uh, to both to enhance, uh, both the cancer care as well as, uh,
prevent a heart disease within, within Columbia.
Kate Zenlea was in Southeast Asia sharing best practices for caregivers.
We have partners in Bangalore, India.
We were learning a lot of their processes. A lot of their methodologies,
engaged in a lot of workshops and site visits with them
abroad.
For the past eight years, the Global Health Initiative-- or GHI--
has been sharing Henry Ford Health System expertise around the world.
Building relationships with local leaders in order to help improve health care.
The biggest challenge for both vulnerable populations,
international and locally, is just access to healthcare.
Throughout the pandemic the team has stayed in this country to meet the global
challenge. In March,
2020 GHI teamed up with the City of Detroit's health department to stand up
what's believed to be the first rapid COVID testing clinic in the country,
tapping into the resourcefulness team members use in third world countries.
This was a Sunday that we got the call and we had that place up and running by
Tuesday. And the reason we were able to do that was really just from, um,
partnerships.
Eventually they expanded their efforts to 26 nursing homes, plus prisons,
schools,
and churches conducting 40,000 COVID tests when all was said and done.
At about the same time,
Henry Ford leaders asked for help with a monumental task.
They already seen some of our successes, even over a short period of time,
um,
and really had the conversation with us if we had the capacity and the resources
to lead the clinical trials.
The team, which includes vaccine and infectious disease researchers,
needed to find space, staff,
and volunteers for the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson COVID-19
vaccine trials.
They were especially focused on enrolling folks from minority communities.
When you see,
especially the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has had
on minorities and people of color,
you quickly realize that they need to be represented in these trials.
Maybe more than other groups, because it's clearly.
Impacting them more.
They recruited more than 1100 volunteers for the trials,
opened three offices and were recognized for best practices.
With vaccines approved. The job shifted to getting shots in arms.
When you look at the vaccine rollout, for example,
some people might not have access to a computer.
They might not trust the vaccine.
So again, just like overseas,
the Global Health Initiative team is knocking down barriers by working with
community leaders.
Vaccine vans are traveling to six sites across Southeast Michigan each week,
including the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn.
People feel comfortable coming in and knowing that all the imams are
vaccinated. So that's another layer of trust for the community.
When the pandemic began,
there were about a dozen people on staff at the Global Health Initiative.
The team has grown to about 60 stepping up right here in Michigan
to meet the challenge that has gripped the entire world.
There've been numerous,
numerous times this year that I just had to kind of sit back and just think of,
um, where we've come and just how proud I am of really everyone on our team.
The team has about 30 overseas projects that have been on hold since the
beginning of the pandemic.
They're hoping that they can keep some of their new team members on staff when
they get back to their global efforts.
Now that everyone in Michigan 16 and older is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine,
a reminder to make sure your family members have a my chart account so that they
can get vaccinated at one of Henry Ford's mass vaccination sites.
You may have recognized Dr. Betty Chu there. She and her son,
Aiden were part of an event at Ford Field,
encouraging Michiganders 16 and up to get vaccinated.
It was a really positive and hopeful, optimistic moment for me,
especially having my son here and being able to vaccinate my son really gives me
a lot of optimism about this coming year and what we're going to be able to do
as a family, but also what society is going to be able to do.
Get back to normal. Just get vaccinated. It'll lead to, you know,
sporting events and gatherings that are safer. It's just,
it's just going to lead us out of this pandemic. We should all do this together,
you know,
so we can get the world back to normal and we can start doing the activities
that we like to do. It was great to see all the kids here today,
especially our younger kids.
We know how its starting to affect the younger generation though.
So to have these kids, these leaders I'll call them out and getting the shot.
You know,
I know that what they'll do is they'll go back and spread the word to other
kids.
And hopefully with there'll be a trickle down effect and we could get so many
more kids vaccinated.
By now, team members should have gotten an email,
letting them know that members of their household are eligible to get vaccinated
at Henry Ford mass vaccination sites. If you haven't gotten email,
reach out to employee services at
employeeservices@hfhs.org.
The maternal child health department at Henry Ford Hospital is celebrating a
whole bunch of deliveries. Not babies this time, baby presents!
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the National Association of Negro
Businesses and Professional Business Clubs' baby shower.
It was a drive-through shower this year because of COVID with the clubs,
the community,
and Henry Ford team members dropping off mountains of baby gifts.
I find it amazing number one, the community group and the,
the support that they've shown and the number of donations,
but also throughout the entire event today,
a large number of Henry Ford departments, Henry Ford employees.
We've seen a lot of people come and drop off, um,
a multitude of items for the benefit of our moms and babies born here.
The gifts will be sent home with underprivileged babies born at Henry Ford
throughout the year. The department focuses on safe sleep and safe travel.
So there were lots and lots of car seats and pack-n-plays,
not to mention all those baby clothes, blankets, and diapers.
Now you're going to meet a Metro Detroit artist whose husband was treated for
pancreatic cancer at Henry Ford.
She tells us what it's like to be part of the healing arts program at the Henry
Ford Cancer Institute in Detroit.
The healing power of art is a creative process.
And without creativity,
things don't move or change.
Healing has a lot to do about never being rigid and
always being open. And art provides that opportunity.
The piece is titled sway. I mix ink,
roll it over a piece of birch plywood and I layer two or
three printings on top of one another so you get this really rich,
vibrant color. The placement has to do with how water moves.
Color is the primary purpose of this piece,
color and movement. And it's,
it's almost like a taking a vertical inventory of color
and the landscape and the subtle patterns of the water are very
inspirational to then the upper panels,
which have subtle movement of woodgrain.
So they echo that movement is they fill up the water.
I hope that it will catch their eye.
It will give them a moment of forgetting where they are.
My husband passed away from pancreatic cancer.
So my knowledge of that process is
deep.
I can't make work if it doesn't come from some experience that I
know, I can't pretend. So I was able to draw on my time
spent in a hospital.
And here I did this piece for the cancer center and I,
I got a tour and learned about all the thought that has gone
into how they are making it so much more
friendly for the patient for the family members.
And I just got so happy and moved by that.
So I'm happy and honored to be a part of a new center
that is taking a more holistic approach to medicine and
treatment and incorporating the art.
And I'm just so thrilled to be part of that.
You'll find Sway by Susan Goethel Campbelljust inside the South entrance
at the Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion. Okay.
Now it's time for our featured photo and this time it's a family one.
That's Dr. Lamont Jones and his 99 year old grandmother, Sarah Brown.
She is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Dr. Jones tells us he's only argued with his grandmother twice in his life.
Once when he told her that she was loving the family to death with unhealthy
food. And this year when she said she didn't want to get vaccinated,
Dr. Jones was able to persuade her and was by her side at One Ford Place.
When she got her shots, photos of grandmothers are my favorite,
but we will take photos of you and your coworkers too.
So send us your featured photos or your story ideas to
newstips@hfhs.org. Thanks for watching.
And I'll see you around.
[Inaudible].