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After a serious case of COVID-19, the long road back to wellness can include many twists and turns.

So, JPS Health Network has assembled a team of experts who get together every other week to serve people who, although they’ve recovered from the virus, still face its lingering after effects.

“People recovering from a tough case of COVID have a variety of needs,” said Seme Dewees-Cooper, Practice Manager at the JPS Polytechnic Clinic, which serves as home to the JPS Post COVID Recovery Clinic every other Tuesday. “We have been able to bring together professionals from several different fields who team up to address all of them in one visit.”

At the clinic, instead of going from one appointment to another, likely on several different days, patients only make one visit. They sit in an exam room and, one-by-one, the experts wait their turn to come in to see them. Internal Medicine physicians, Pulmonologists, physical therapists, psychologists, nutrition specialists, and others are on the schedule. Since they’re all in the same place, experts can consult with each other on the spot.

“We see lot of people with muscular and skeletal weakness, as well as shortness of breath and cough,” said Internal Medicine physician Dr. Sireeesha Kolachalama. “But we also see a lot of psychological needs. People are suffering from financial setbacks and they’re worried about reinfection. It’s very powerful to be able to address all their issues at once to try to get people back to health. Working together like this for the patients, it’s what makes JPS a special place.”

Pulmonologist Dr. Steven Q. Davis, who organized the Post COVID Recovery Clinic, said bringing different specialists under the same roof is truly the key to giving patients the best care. He said the arrangement gives caregivers the opportunity to discuss patients’ needs in real time, having meaningful discussions instead of trading emails or playing phone tag.

“The pacing really works,” Davis said. “Instead of going to one appointment one day and then another a couple of days later and another a day or two after that, everything can happen in one visit. By the time the patient is done with their visit, there is going to be a plan in place for their care.”

David Graves, Director of Rehabilitation Services, said physical therapy is an important component of recovery for more reasons than most people might realize. He said he’s glad to be able to get involved in the planning stages of a patient’s recovery so his work can help set the stage for success.

“COVID has a negative effect on the efficiency and pattern of breathing of people who have the disease,” Graves explained, adding that without changes to posture and teaching people how to breathe all over again, they’ll face a much longer and more difficult road to recovery. “A high percentage of COVID patients become ‘chest breathers’ which causes them to work harder to draw in a breath and to not blow the old air out.”

Graves works with recovering COVID patients to train them to breathe from their diaphragm, expelling stale air so they can take in fresh oxygen, improving their ability to heal and rebuild their lost endurance. Then registered dietician Katelin Hatcher visits with patients to talk to them about fueling their body in the proper way to rebuild strength.

“We tell people your body is like a car,” Hatcher said. “If you don’t put gas in it, you’re not going to get anywhere.”

Hatcher said often COVID patients don’t want to eat because of the loss of the senses of taste and smell that are associated with infection. Sometimes, those symptoms linger on long after the person tests negative for the disease. But Hatcher must find ways to get patients to eat the right things even when food of any sort doesn’t seem particularly appetizing.

The specialists who work at the clinic said they’re amazed how naturally it came together when the need for customized care for COVID patients was recognized last spring. Davis said back then no one knew exactly what the long-term needs people would have after battling the disease.

“We’ve been getting a little bit savvier with the things we need to do to treat COVID,” Davis said. “The frustration is that we still don’t know why some people get so much sicker than others. We know what recovery looks like, we know what recovery looks like, we are just are frustrated by our inability to predict who will be hardest hit.”

Currently, the Post COVID-Recovery Clinic sees 8-12 patients a day when it’s open. That number has remained steady over the nine months it has been in operation. The team of caregivers that works there has been rooting for a decrease in hospitalizations and new cases will translate into less demand for long-term care.

“We’ve been hoping to wind down and, at one point, we were hoping to close the clinic by the end of March,” Dewees-Cooper said. “Since then, we’ve decided to keep it open at least through the end of June and, now, it looks like we’ll be here at least through the end of September. As long as there are patients who need us, we’re going to be here for them.”

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Thousands of JPS Health Network team members have rolled up their sleeves to get COVID-19 vaccinations.

Now they’re urging Tarrant County residents to do the same.

The vaccination could save their own life, or the lives of the people they care most about, according to the front line caregivers who have been fighting the virus for nearly a year. It could also save the lives of the doctors and nurses we all count on to take care of us should we become ill.

“I encourage everybody to get the vaccine,” said RN Jocelyn Thompson. “We need this vaccine so we finally have immunity against this virus, which is a very dangerous disease.”

Thompson said she has had to put aside her personal concerns to take care of the people who need her.

“I need this vaccine because I have some underlying conditions,” Thompson said. “I was so worried about this virus. Hopefully, because of the vaccination, the end of the pandemic is finally in sight. I encourage others to get the vaccine for our own health, for the people we love, and for everybody in this country and around the world.”

More than 4,000 JPS team members have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to serve the people of Tarrant County. The public can register to be inoculated at one of the designated vaccination hubs across the region on the Tarrant County Department of Public Health website. County leaders say residents must register and have an appointment, those who show up unannounced will be turned away.

Frontline caregivers urge residents to register as soon as possible.

Respiratory Therapist Jay Pyburn said people shouldn’t underestimate COVID-19. He said, in addition to being a life-threatening disease, it also causes a lot of other problems for survivors.

“I’ve seen what COVID can do,” Pyburn said. “It’s not just death; even among the ‘recovered,’ long- term effects can be permanent lung damage and more. This is truly a devastating illness, and we need to take every precaution available.”

For the healthcare worker, getting a vaccination is a sign of respect for all those who have lost their battle with COVID-19.

“I want that patient and/or their family to know that I am going to do everything I can in the COVID ICU to save their life, and I am going to do whatever I can to protect everyone around me in daily life,” Pyburn said. “Not everyone has access to see how devastating this virus is, not only to the human body, but also to the emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects of the healthcare workers sacrificing their own lives.”

Kayla Evans, a Critical Care RN in the Intensive Care Unit, said getting your COVID-19 vaccination is key to taking control of your future and reclaiming it from the pandemic.

“For the people who are not in the medical field, it not only shows admiration for your overworked and overtired healthcare workers,” Evans said. “It is also a statement of humanity. You don’t have to see the horror of this virus to know that it is hurting people and their families. There is something you can do to help. This vaccine is movement toward getting life back to normal, appreciating the blessings of science, and saying thank you to all those individuals that have made the vaccine possible and cared for those affected patients.”

Thompson said that some people are concerned about getting the vaccination because it’s so new. But she, Pyburn and Evans – along with more than 4,000 other JPS team members – have already received it with no ill effects.

“This vaccine is just like getting the flu shot,” Thompson said. “It’s a tool we can use to fight against the virus. I know people are tired of wearing masks and social distancing, and we’ll still have to do those things for a while, but this is the path to getting back to normal. The sooner the better.”

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“I don’t think anyone thinks when they start a job in their early twenties that they’re going to be there until the end of their career,” Massey said. “But JPS is a special place. And it’s special not only because of the people who work here and the people we care for. It’s also special because of the way we’re dedicated to getting better. I could have never imagined back when I started how much we’ve grown since then.”

How have things changed?

Massey said one of the biggest ways is how pharmacists, physicians and nurses communicate and keep track of medications delivered to patients. Greatly improved tracking and monitoring of medication allows caregivers to maximize the impact of treatments prescribed to patients. That dedication to growth has transformed JPS from being “just the county hospital” to a nationally recognized healthcare network that delivers cutting edge care every day.

“We can do so much more for people today than we could back in the early days,” Massey said. “It’s really amazing and very satisfying to be able to be a part of it.”

Nick Milazzo, Director of the Inpatient Pharmacy at JPS, said he’s been working at the health network for a little more than three years. When he met Massey, the veteran pharmacist warned the new guy not to get used to having him around because he was getting ready to retire.

“More than three years later, he’s still here,” Milazzo said. “I think he loves it here so much that he’s never going to leave. And I hope he doesn’t because his knowledge is an incredible resource for the rest of us. I’m certainly glad he’s decided to stay as long as he has.”

Massey agreed his love of working with his teammates at JPS as well as working with the patients they serve has kept him clocking in for duty years after he otherwise would have preferred to kick his feet up and call it a career. But he said still dreams of having more time to spend with his family and with his fishing pole, and hopes to get there some day in the not-too-distant future.

“I haven’t quite figured out how or when I’m going to do that yet,” Massey said. “But at some point, I’ll probably quietly slip away.”

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D CEO Magazine named JPS Health Network the Outstanding Health System for the Dallas-Fort Worth region Tuesday during its 2020 Excellence in Healthcare Awards.

“I couldn’t be more proud of each and every member of our team,” Robert Earley, President and CEO of JPS, said in response to the announcement. “Not one of our 7,200 team members comes to work every day for the purpose of trying to win awards. They do it because they care about the health of the people of Tarrant County. But, especially in the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s tremendously gratifying to know their efforts are being noticed.”

Also a winner at the awards ceremony, which for the first time this year was held virtually because of COVID-19, was JPS Manager of Violence Prevention Mary Ann Contreras who was named Outstanding Healthcare Advocate.

“Needless to say, I was struck with gratitude,” Contreras said of winning the honor. “It truly takes a village to do the work for those most in need and I am honored to be a part of the team.”

Contreras was nominated for the award for her tireless work to create programs and policies to identify and assist people who are the victims of intimate partner violence and human trafficking. Her initiatives have helped create a way out of their otherwise hopeless situations by allowing patients to discretely ask for the help they need and then providing them with support and resources patients need to be successful in regaining their independence.

Despite the fact that COVID-19 kept finalists apart, D-CEO Editor Will Maddox said it was more important this year than ever that the honors went on as planned.

“We know that you have faced unprecedented challenges this year, and by all accounts, have a tough winter ahead,” Maddox said to honorees. “We have been in awe of your bravery, collaboration, and determination to treat COVID-19 and save lives, while running your organizations and serving the multitude of other patients and crises you face every day. If there was ever a group of people who deserved recognition, a night to celebrate and honor one another, and, yes, have a glass of champagne or two, it is you—the members of DFW’s healthcare community.”

While she didn’t win the award, also recognized at the virtual event was Devon Armstrong, Director of Care Management, Outpatient at JPS. She was a finalist in the category of Outstanding Health System Innovator.

Armstrong said she was elated to be named among four finalists in her category.

“I honestly didn’t expect to win up against those executives,” Armstrong said. “The nomination and being a finalist are things I will never forget. I am so honored to be recognized in this way.”

The local recognition comes following the announcement over the summer that the health network was rated the number one hospital in the country by Washington Monthly Magazine using a ranking system created in conjunction with the Lown Institute.

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While everyone’s life has been impacted in one way or another by the COVID-19 pandemic, JPS Health Network respiratory therapists find themselves front and center in the battle against a disease that causes those hardest hit to struggle for every breath.

“Our therapists do such an amazing job every day,” said Rob Welborne, Clinical Manager of the Respiratory Therapy Department. “They’ve been called upon to work long hours and handle the intense pressure, day after day, week after week, that COVID’s demanded. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Welborne said therapists spend hours a day in the COVID unit, monitoring patients and administering care. They work 12 hour shifts for days on a row, often three or four days on followed by one brief day off, then back to work for three or four more days.

Therapist Juliana Hernandez said, while the hours are still long and the work is just as tough and heartbreaking, things are getting better in terms of what can be done for patients.

 “We were very good at the way we cared for respiratory patients before the pandemic,” Hernandez said. “But here comes COVID, and now it’s tough because we’re trying to manage a disease and we really know very little about it.”

In addition to working long days, therapists had to leave their uncomfortable protective gear on for hours at a time. They never knew when they would be called into a room because of medical emergency, and when that happened they couldn’t afford the precious time it took to don their protective gear before rushing into a room to revive a patient whose heart stopped beating.

Hernandez said strategies and medications to battle COVID have emerged. But there’s no vaccination yet. Still, she said it’s at least encouraging that there are have been some medicines approved and treatment plans developed to give therapists some tools to use in their efforts to assist patients.

As procedures have evolved and equipment has become available, other challenges have arisen. Some team members have become ill with the virus, including one serious enough to miss several weeks of work. Another therapist had to worry from afar as her father became seriously ill with COVID, isolated in a hospital in Lubbock as she worked with patients suffering similar symptoms in Fort Worth.

Irma Torres said both of her parents were infected over the summer and her mother was able to recover quickly. Her father, however, ended up intubated in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital 270 miles away.

“Because COVID patients have to be isolated, we work really hard at JPS with connecting them with their families, calling them every day to make sure they know what’s going on,” Torres said. “I expected that was going to happen with my dad… But it didn’t. It has really given me an appreciation for how much it means to our patients and our families to give them that personal care.”

Torres said it’s frustrating to hear about people who refuse to wear a mask or who continue to gather at parties or other events.

“My parents live in a small town and didn’t do anything besides go to the grocery store when they had to,” Torres said. “They’re the last people you’d ever think would get it. This disease is definitely something to be taken seriously.”

When things were at their worst for her father, Torres said she found it difficult not to be reminded of her fear and sadness about his condition. But she said, while there is no end to the pandemic in sight, therapists can’t afford to let their guard down. They all have to work together to make sure team members are getting the support they need to give patients the best care possible.

“They offered to take me off of the COVID Unit,” Torres said of her supervisors when her father was at his sickest. “But if I didn’t do it, I knew someone else was going to have to pick up those shifts. Everybody’s working so hard now. That wasn’t fair to them, so I wanted to keep doing my share.”

JPS Health Network and two of its team members are finalists for prestigious D CEO Magazine Excellence in Healthcare awards.

“This is a great accomplishment, as the competition this year was especially tough,” Will Maddox,
Managing Editor of D CEO Magazine said in a release. “All finalists will be recognized in a special feature in the December issue of D CEO, at dmagazine.com, D CEO Healthcare, and at an exclusive event later this year.”

As a whole, JPS is one of four finalists in the category of Outstanding Health System. The local recognition comes following the announcement over the summer that the health network was rated the number one hospital in the country by Washington Monthly Magazine using a ranking system created in conjunction with the Lown Institute.

“I’m so proud of each and every member of our team,” said Robert Earley, President and CEO of JPS. “Not one of our 7,200 team members comes to work every day for the purpose of trying to win awards. They do it because they care about the health of the people of Tarrant County. But, especially in the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s tremendously gratifying to know their efforts are being noticed.”

Two JPS leaders have been recognized individually.

Mary Ann Contreras, Manager of Violence and Injury Prevention is a finalist in the category of Outstanding Healthcare Advocate while Devon Armstrong, Director of Care Management, Outpatient, is a finalist in the Outstanding Health System Innovator group.

Contreras has worked tirelessly to create programs and policies to identify and assist people who are the victims of intimate partner violence and human trafficking. Her initiatives have helped create a way out of their otherwise hopeless situations by allowing patients to discretely ask for the help they need and then providing them with support and resources patients need to be successful in regaining their independence.

“I am grateful for the honor to be named as a finalist for the D CEO Healthcare Advocacy award,” Contreras said. “Partnering with a variety of city leaders and community organizations provides multidisciplinary insight into ways we can work together with purpose; to create change in healthcare systems that positively impacts the lives of the communities we all serve.”

Armstrong rose to the tremendous challenge COVID-19 has presented, leading the effort to create a home monitoring program for patients infected which included the delivery of supplemental oxygen to their residences. Armstrong’s efforts not only freed up beds inside the hospital for the sickest patients, but it also allowed less critical patients the opportunity to recover in the comfort of their home.

“I’m totally shocked,” Armstrong said of learning she was nominated for the award and a finalist to receive it. “It totally caught me off guard. COVID has been a rollercoaster for all of us. The thing that has kept me going day in and day out is that I never lost sight of the value of our care to the patients. That’s what kept me grounded. This has been the most rewarding year I’ve spent at JPS, which is odd because the pandemic has made it the toughest.”

Armstrong said she hopes the things JPS has learned about remote COVID care will help it to provide a broader range of at-home care for people with other types of health concerns long after COVID-19 is over.

The date and location of the seventh annual D CEO Excellence in Healthcare Awards ceremony has not yet been announced. More information will be coming soon.

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A pair of veteran nurses will take more than 80 years of experience with them as they walk out the doors of JPS and into well-deserved retirement.

It’s a bittersweet time for Trudy Sanders, Vice President of Patient Care Services, and Lily Wong, Director of Nursing Support Services, as they leave behind jobs they love, colleagues they’ve worked alongside for decades to help build JPS into what it is today, and countless team members they’ve helped to develop to lead the health network into the future.

“Trudy Sanders and Lily Wong will be missed not only because they’re people we’ve counted on every day for four decades, but because they embody the JPS spirit,” said President and CEO Robert Earley. “While it’s difficult to say goodbye, we’re grateful that they’ve made this place so much better than how they found it, raising the bar for the people who will follow them.”

Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Wanda Peebles she’s tried to put off thinking about JPS without the veteran nurses.

“Trudy and Lily have both been instrumental and critical parts of JPS,” Peebles said. “It will be a major loss with both of them leaving. I can’t imagine this organization without Trudy. I don’t think we’re going to truly know all of what she did until she’s gone for a little while. She had her hand in so many things without bringing attention to herself. We may fill the job, but we’ll never be able to replace Trudy Sanders.

Peebles said Wong was always willing to lend a hand wherever she was needed, and she had the respect of her peers and protégés because of it.

“Lily has been such an advocate for our nurses, and so supportive to me personally and professionally,” Peebles said. “When she had an assignment, you never had to worry that it was going to be done. She had the historical perspective to remind us who we are and where we came from, as well as the nursing background to get us where we were going. That knowledge base is going to be something we’ll really miss.”

JPS Health Network was named the best hospital in the United States, according to a new hospital evaluating system unveiled Tuesday by Washington Monthly Magazine. Ranking near the top of every category, it out-scored the most prestigious healthcare organizations in America. 

You might ask yourself, “how is it possible for a public safety-net hospital to out-rank the finest private hospitals across the United States?”

“What Americans should be asking is, why can’t more hospitals be like JPS?” Washington Monthly countered in explaining its findings. “Shouldn’t every person in this country have access to a hospital that provides high-quality care, welcomes all comers regardless of wealth and insurance status, and contributes to the larger health of the community?”

Using a formula ten years in the making, the magazine — in conjunction with the Lown Institute — has created a new ranking system designed to identify hospitals that not only offer the best high-end care. It also valued ones that effectively and efficiently provide healthcare for at-need populations that don’t have insurance or financial resources for medical assistance and serve as leaders in their communities. JPS received high marks in every category of the evaluation.

“The people who come to work at JPS every day don’t get up in the morning hoping to win awards or accolades,” said health network President and CEO Robert Earley. “They come here because they’re dedicated to providing the best care they can to the people of Tarrant County, regardless of their social or economic status. This recognition belongs to our team of 7,200 of the most dedicated people you could ever meet who make sure every day that the people of our community get the care they need and they deserve.”

In an era when hospitals struggle financially to survive as they battle a global pandemic, the publishers of the magazine said JPS is a shining example of how a health care institution can be most responsible to the communities they serve and effective in the care they provide. 

“We and the Lown Institute are confident that our new rankings reveal important realities about the performance of the nation’s hospitals,” editors of Washington Monthly explained. “We also believe that they set a better standard for what we should expect from our hospitals than any other system out there.”

According to the magazine, hospitals that do well in other ranking formulas excel at lucrative specialized treatments and procedures. They would better serve their community if they offered more comprehensive care to all who need it, as JPS does.

“Imagine, however, if hospitals were motivated to rise in our rankings,” the editors wrote. “They would compete to bring in patients from all levels of society, not just the well insured. They would find ways to get their staffs to stop performing unnecessary procedures and tests. They would try to reduce the pay differential between hospital workers and chief executives. And they would put more of their earnings into improving the conditions that affect the health of their communities. If more hospitals had done these things before the pandemic, how many Americans might have been in healthier shape to fend off the virus, or survive if they did get it?” 

JPS ranked in the top one percent of hospitals in civic leadership, in the top 10 percent in avoiding over-use of low-value care and the top 17 percent for quality of care.

“It sets the standard, in our estimation, of what a great hospital should be,” according to Washington Monthly.

One of the toughest parts of being a COVID-19 patient, besides being sick, is being stuck in a hospital room away from your family and friends for a lengthy period of time as you recover.

JPS Health Network leaders have found a way to get patients back home earlier – or in some cases keep them out of the hospital altogether – as they return to health. By sending patients home with an oxygen supply and monitoring their blood oxygen level through the day, not only are patients more comfortable, but 1,200 days of inpatient stays have been avoided, opening hospital beds for patients who need them.

“There are multiple benefits of getting people home as soon as possible,” Dr. Steven Davis, pulmonary/critical care physician and Senior Physician Executive of Internal Medicine at JPS said about the JPS COVID-19 Home Monitoring Program. “Visitors are not being allowed in our COVID units and the caregivers there are dressed in enhanced personal protective equipment. So, there is a lot of isolation both physical and emotional. On the other end of the spectrum, there is a financial component. Lengthy stays at the hospital are expensive, so this is a cost effective way for patients to get the care they need.”

Currently, JPS has about 80 patients staying in the hospital’s COVID units, about 30 people are at home on the oxygen program. At a time when the demand for COVID beds has nearly doubled in a matter of two weeks, the new initiative has increased the number of available beds by more than one-third.

As COVID patients recover, Davis said the last thing they need to be able to be on their own again is a little bit of a boost of oxygen. While sending them home with oxygen and monitoring equipment might sound like a simple idea, working out the logistics was much more complicated, he said.

“We learned early on that people with COVID were going to need oxygen for a while,” Davis said. “There were those who didn’t need much oxygen to keep from being admitted to the hospital and those with the only thing keeping them in hospital was they still needed a little oxygen. The problem was their blood oxygen had to be 88 percent or lower to get their oxygen paid for (by insurance.) That’s a problem because 88 percent is getting low enough where you might not have a lot of reserve beneath that before their condition starts to plummet.”

Davis credited the JPS Finance Department with doing a fantastic job in negotiating with insurers and suppliers to secure oxygen for patients with up to a 94 percent blood oxygen level.

“The reason we were able to make this work was because of the collaborative culture at JPS,” said Rory McCrady, Vice President of Revenue Cycle at the health network. We started out with a concept that this was a way to address an urgent need due to a rise in the demands caused by the pandemic. When I got the request, the question was how do we get mobilized?”

McCrady and the finance team worked with oxygen vendors and insurance companies to come up with a plan that helped all the contributors more efficiently and effectively help patients. They then pre-stocked needed oxygen tanks and carts, pulse oximeters and other supplies. While there was some upfront cost, it has more than been offset by the savings realized from having patients in their home instead of a hospital bed.

Dr. Nadia Alawi, Vice Chief-Primary Care Operations, said it was gratifying to see so many people come together for the good of patients.

“From Case Management, to the medical staff, to third-party vendors, this is something that required a real team effort,” Alawi said. “Collaboration and coming together for a good cause, it’s what we do best.”

When they’re set up in their home, patients are contacted at least three times a day to monitor their condition.

“There are so many contacts with patients that if their oxygen needs start to go up, we have a chance to catch it and they’re admitted before things get out of hand,” Davis said. “Since this program started, we’ve had to admit several people. But we did it safely because we have a mechanism to catch people if their condition begins to worsen.”

Davis said the program, only about two weeks old, has worked so well that it will certainly be around to help patients in need of oxygen because of other reasons long after COVID-19 is in the past.