Paying Tribute to COVID-19 Heroes

Every year on March 4, health care organizations across Texas recognize the contributions and sacrifices of those who filled crucial roles in health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state Legislature created “COVID-19 Heroes and Memorial Day” in 2024 as a way to honor the clinical teams and other medical professionals who worked tirelessly during that challenging time. The observance also memorializes those who lost their lives to the disease since March 4, 2020, when it was first diagnosed in Texas.

Thank you to the heroes at Cook Children’s who practiced our values – safety, kindness, collaboration, imagination, generosity and respect – while caring for our patients, families and one another. One example? The Microbiology/Molecular Laboratory at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, which has performed 249,518 COVID tests since the pandemic started.

Clinical microbiologist Morgan Pence, Ph.D. recounted the difficulty obtaining test kits, swabs, viral transport media and other essential items due to worldwide supply chain issues.  

“Items that we previously never had to think twice about were nearly impossible or entirely impossible to acquire,” she said. “We spent an inordinate amount of time sourcing and creating alternative options.”

Here’s more in Morgan's words: “At the beginning of the pandemic, health care facilities and laboratories were scrambling to bring COVID testing in-house. We were able to bring testing in-house at the Medical Center, but to do so required utilizing Plan E; Plans A-D ultimately did not work out. I do not recall any other time when we have had to resort to Plan E.

“To meet the needs of our patients, we had to get creative. We developed triaging strategies based on the patient location and/or condition. … We frequently updated the indications and worked with our clinical colleagues to ensure everyone was on the same page.

“We also hired an additional laboratory scientist to perform batch COVID testing on second shift to improve turnaround times for patient care. Fortunately, after the pandemic, we were able to maintain the additional staff position. This has resulted in decreased turnaround times for several tests and is a service not offered in many hospital-based laboratories.

“Even with the substantial increase in workload, the team rose to the occasion to provide consistent, high-quality patient care and to continually support each other. There were times when we had to adjust on a daily basis, and they handled it with ease and flexibility. It was inspiring to see everyone come together; it was an impressive example of teamwork.”