April 01, 2020 09:24 AM -
ST. LOUIS – To slow the transmission of COVID-19 and to help save lives across the St. Louis Metropolitan region, BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Luke’s Hospital have created the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. Dr. Alex Garza, Chief Community Health Officer at SSM Health serves as the Incident Commander of the Task Force.
The Task Force includes the St. Louis metropolitan area’s largest health care systems, working together to coordinate capacity, staffing, supplies and other issues affecting our region during the pandemic. They are also coordinating with public health departments, elected leaders and state and federal agencies to provide the best possible care to the community.
Dr. Alex Garza was named Incident Commander of the Task Force. Dr. Garza currently serves as the Chief Community Health Officer at SSM Health and will retain that position as he oversees the efforts of the Task Force. In addition to more than 21 years practicing and teaching in academic medicine, Dr. Garza is a Colonel with over 20 years of service in the US Army Reserves. He previously served as Assistant Secretary and Chief Medical Officer to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He played a critical role in protecting the United States from threats of terrorism. While at DHS, Dr. Garza led the U.S. response to the H1N1 pandemic.
“Our health care heroes are working to save lives and doing heroic work. But what we do as individuals – whether we stay at home, practice social distancing, wash our hands – will directly reduce the number of patients into our health care systems and impact whether our health care providers are able to manage the curve”, Dr. Garza says. “What we do as individuals will affect how many people get sick, how many people die – and how many people are able to recover.”
The Task Force will continue to build on the coordinated work in which the region’s health systems, governmental, and public health leaders have been engaged to ensure collaboration and the best possible patient care and coordination of supplies, staffing, hospital beds, and other critical assets.
The Task Force will also communicate daily to the public about new developments either by a daily live press briefing, or online data report.
The Task Force includes the St. Louis metropolitan area’s largest health care systems, working together to coordinate capacity, staffing, supplies and other issues affecting our region during the pandemic. They are also coordinating with public health departments, elected leaders and state and federal agencies to provide the best possible care to the community.
Dr. Alex Garza was named Incident Commander of the Task Force. Dr. Garza currently serves as the Chief Community Health Officer at SSM Health and will retain that position as he oversees the efforts of the Task Force. In addition to more than 21 years practicing and teaching in academic medicine, Dr. Garza is a Colonel with over 20 years of service in the US Army Reserves. He previously served as Assistant Secretary and Chief Medical Officer to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He played a critical role in protecting the United States from threats of terrorism. While at DHS, Dr. Garza led the U.S. response to the H1N1 pandemic.
“Our health care heroes are working to save lives and doing heroic work. But what we do as individuals – whether we stay at home, practice social distancing, wash our hands – will directly reduce the number of patients into our health care systems and impact whether our health care providers are able to manage the curve”, Dr. Garza says. “What we do as individuals will affect how many people get sick, how many people die – and how many people are able to recover.”
The Task Force will continue to build on the coordinated work in which the region’s health systems, governmental, and public health leaders have been engaged to ensure collaboration and the best possible patient care and coordination of supplies, staffing, hospital beds, and other critical assets.
The Task Force will also communicate daily to the public about new developments either by a daily live press briefing, or online data report.
