Senate Resolution 64

A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND COMMENDING "COMMUNITY HEROES OF THE YEAR 2020" UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER DR. BHAGYASHRI NAVALKELE AND DR. JASON PARHAM FOR THEIR MEDICAL AND CIVIC LEADERSHIP IN LEADING THE RESEARCH AND TREATMENT OF CORONAVIRUS ACROSS MISSISSIPPI.

WHEREAS, it was Christmas 2019 when Dr. Bhagyashri Navalkele began educating herself on the "pneumonia of unknown origin" that was cropping up in China's Hubei Province. So little was known about that novel, or new, coronavirus. Dr. Navalkele, Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), was watchful. In a few weeks, cases literally doubled or tripled in China and spread like wildfire. It was a new virus, and the whole population had zero immunity against it. It went worldwide as a pandemic and came to the United States, and to Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Jason Parham, Director of UMMC's Division of Infectious Diseases, had the same assessment of the viciousness of this particular coronavirus that scientists named COVID-19. Parham and Navalkele were closing in on four months of preparations and response for a pandemic that no physician, no hospital and no health care community understood. But as COVID-19 approached its plateau in Mississippi, the infectious diseases team they lead and the state's only academic medical center were as ready as they could be; and

WHEREAS, for their tireless efforts, The Clarion Ledger recognized Parham and Navalkele as its "Community Heroes" for April, 2020. "The Clarion Ledge Community Heroes Program" is a monthly honor created to recognize heroes around the metro Jackson area; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Parham is an Amory native who grew up in Jackson and Clinton. He is a University of Mississippi School of Medicine graduate, completing his residency and fellowship in Infectious Diseases at UMMC and then earning a Master's Degree in Public Health Practices from the School of Public Health and Health Practices at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He returned to the Medical Center in 2011 and today holds the academic rank of Associate Professor in both the School of Medicine and in the John D. Bower School of Population Health; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Navalkele is a native of India, receiving her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College in Mumbai and completing a residency in Internal Medicine at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She was a fellow in Infectious Diseases and in Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology at Wayne State University and Detroit Medical Center. She joined the Medical Center faculty in 2017 as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Parham and Dr. Navalkele are among the many front-line heroes of the Medical Center, working in partnership with those designated to care for the COVID-19 patients, feed them, monitor their ventilators, sanitize their rooms and hold their hands because their loved ones aren't allowed to. "The Medical Center is lucky to have Dr. Parham and Dr. Navalkele leading our infection intervention efforts," said Dr. LouAnn Woodward, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine. "Since day one of our preparation and response efforts, they've brought a calming effect across our organization. In the face of a public health crisis, you hope to have the right people in the right positions at the right time, and we can say that happened here;" and

WHEREAS, for the foreseeable future, Drs. Parham and Navalkele, plus members of the Medical Center's Leadership Team, will spend countless hours in an Incident-Command Center for COVID-19 response. Dr. Woodward, who is also an Emergency Medicine Physician, is the Incident Commander. Dr. Alan Jones, Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, serves as the Clinical Response Leader for UMMC's COVID-19 response. Dr. Jonathan Wilson, Chief Administrative Officer, is Incident Manager and a Veteran Leader of Emergency Response for Disasters Including Tornadoes and Hurricanes; and

WHEREAS, it begins with the basics, Dr. Navalkele said, including educating Medical Center's 10,000 employees in February on the virus, its symptoms and what was known at the time about its transmission. In late February, the Medical Center created a hotline for employees to call with questions, concerns or suspicions that they were infected. Along with hospital leadership, Parham and Navalkele helped formulate policies that required students and employees who traveled over spring break to quarantine for two weeks. They led the charge on creating procedures for screening patients for the virus and keeping tabs on how many negative pressure rooms, designed to keep contaminated air from escaping, were available for COVID-19 patients; and

WHEREAS, the Medical Center's careful stewardship of PPE has allowed front-line staff to have what they need. That hasn't been the case in many New York City hospitals or other hot spots for the virus. Several of UMMC's health care team have been treated for COVID-19, but none have died, unlike dozens nationally whose hospitals ran short on PPE; and

WHEREAS, as the surge in patients brought by the disease's peak approaches, Parham and Navalkele know their best-laid plans will be fully tested. Every day, there are at least 200 new cases and double-digit deaths in Mississippi. Dr, Navalkele said "We are prepared as we can be to make sure our staff has enough PPE, and we have enough staff to take care of our patients"; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize these UMMC doctors who have made an impact on the lives of so many patients and brought honor to UMMC and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby recognize and commend "Community Heroes of the Year for 2020: UMMC Dr. Bhagyashri Navalkele and Dr. Jason Parham for their medical and civil leadership in leading the research and treatment of coronavirus across Mississippi and offer our congratulations for the implementation of this critical program and its continued success.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Dr. Bhagyashri Navalkele and Dr. Jason Parham and their families and co-workers, forwarded to Dr. LouAnn Woodward Vice-Chancellor at UMMC and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.