UVA Health held an event on Monday to recognize the two-year anniversary of the first patient with COVID admitted into their care. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
During the commemoration, Dr. Craig Kent, CEO of UVA Health, noted that two years ago, the hospital admitted their very first COVID patient.
CRAIG KENT: An elderly woman was admitted through the emergency department, tested positive for COVID, stayed in our intensive care unit for 24 hours, and then thankfully was discharged to home. She remains well to this day. If only the outcomes of all of our patients were this positive.
Rick Carpenter, nurse manager of the medical ICU, talked about how the pandemic unfolded.
RICK CARPENTER: The big turning point came in December of 2020. That's when team members were able to receive their first vaccination, which provided hope for many. It seemed like we were making great progress for several months. But then the next wave, and then the next wave came along.
Dr. Mo Nadkarni held up a photograph when he spoke.
MO NADKARNI: This is a picture of my Mom. She was stricken with COVID in December of 2020 and was cared for here, wonderfully, at UVA … as a visitor I was able to witness both the cutting-edge and the compassionate and truly loving care UVA provided … unfortunately she died from the late complications of COVID, and I miss her every day. But on the other side of hope, I saw so many other patients survive only due to the extra efforts and the care of our teams.
The Virginia Department of Health reported on Tuesday that the seven-day average of new daily cases was 850 for the whole state – the lowest it's been since last July.
