In the News

HCMC’s transplant coordinator, Jennifer Bodner, had been joking about how Stibal’s generosity and bravery in doing “this totally altruistic act” made her a queen of sorts. One of Stibal’s friends overheard the remark and decided to bring a tiara to the hospital for Stibal to don as she prepared for surgery.

Hennepin County Medical Center was an early user of the steroid dexamethasone to combat the immune system’s sometimes fatal overreaction to infection, and its hunch was verified by a British study showing that the drug reduced COVID-19 mortality.

“We are picking up a lot of extra hours, especially the healthy staff,” said Registered Nurse at Hennepin Healthcare Jennifer Karkoc. “My co-workers are the best and I count on them every day to get through this shift.”

“We see entire families who can’t isolate from each other that are getting sick,” said Dr. Shirlee Xie, Hennepin Healthcare.

“I think we’re really close to some breakthroughs for some people with ALS, it’s a complex disease,” said Dr. Sam Maiser of Hennepin Healthcare’s ALS Center of Excellence in Minneapolis.

As doctors, we’re not just healing the body, we’re healing the mind as well,” said Dr. Deepti Pandita, Chief Health Information Officer for Hennepin Healthcare. “This is one way where we can heal the mind, because family connections are so important.”

MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with Dr. David Hilden, vice president of medical affairs at Hennepin Healthcare about the stress this surge is putting on health care workers.

“Definitely we are seeing more kids coming in either into physician offices or the emergency room,” said Julie Philbrook, a nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Hennepin Healthcare psychologist Dr. Talee Vang says not having access to gyms during a cold wintry month means it’s especially important to work activity into your day to ward off depression and weight gain. Twenty minutes, three times a week can improve your mood.

“Anybody who gets hurt, their first thought is to get revenge somehow or some way, and that was my first thought. It was in my mind at the time,” Morgan said.

But someone interrupted those thoughts, a stranger who approached him in the hospital, a lifelong educator named Larry Burgess. He told WCCO how he stops people from retaliating: “Showing them love, showing them another way.”

Burgess is part of a cutting-edge violence prevention program which is a joint effort by the city of Minneapolis, HCMC and North Memorial called Next Step.

“With COVID-19, there’s something called silent hypoxia, and that’s where your oxygen level can drop very quickly without you even realizing it, and so have that machine at home allows you to catch that before it happens,” explained Natalie Ikeman, Hennepin Healthcare Physician Assistant. She’s also the Director of the COVID-19 Home Monitoring Program.

Dr. Jon Cole from Hennepin Healthcare said he cancelled travel plans as the pandemic continued to hit. Five days after cancelling, he and his wife developed COVID-19 symptoms and spread it to their children. Cole describes the sickness as a “horrible experience.” He said he probably has helped more people by staying home and not going on a trip will having COVID-19 than he has currently while having the privilege of working as a doctor.

Dr. Hannah Lichtsinn with Hennepin Healthcare says if you have COVID-19 symptoms, you should get tested immediately.  However, if you’ve been possibly exposed, schedule a test for five to seven days after the exposure.

At Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, spokesperson Christine Hill said the hospital is asking staff who have been exposed to the virus to return to work before the end of their quarantine if they work in areas experiencing a staffing crisis.

“Nurses at Hennepin Healthcare have developed a process to test staff at seven days after a high-risk exposure,” Hill said. “Only if the test is negative can they return to work, adhering strictly to required precautions.” She said the process allows staff to return to work early, but doesn’t require it. The move is a voluntary one, she said.

This year, more kids are at home due to distance learning. Julie Philbrook, a trauma prevention specialist for Hennepin Healthcare, said they are seeing a rise in preventable home injuries.

“If we could give it to everyone at the same time that would be great, but that’s a lot to coordinate very quickly,” said Dr. Caitlin Eccles-Radtke and infectious disease specialist at Hennepin Healthcare. 

Doctors are troubled by the current spike in cases because it often takes weeks for patients to develop serious disease, said Dr. Matthew Prekker, an emergency and critical care specialist at Hennepin Healthcare.

Our volumes are up, our ICUs are busy, our nurses, doctors and support staff are working extremely hard to take care of these patients. – Dr. Matt Prekker

With Minnesota’s numbers remaining at all-time highs, will our state consider dialing things back again? WCCO spoke with Dr. David Hilden, an internal medicine physician at Hennepin Healthcare.

“This is not a drill,” said Dr. John Hick, an HCMC physician who is coordinating the collaborative response by Minnesota hospitals. He encouraged public mask-wearing and social distancing to slow viral spread and reduce pressure on hospitals.