Photos: Inside UVA Health’s Fight Against COVID-19
![Healthcare provider talking to a patient while holding a Covid-19 testing swab](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_header_standard_feature.jpg)
UVA is now administering its own COVID-19 tests, developed in a whirlwind effort by physicians and laboratorians. (Photos by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)
As most of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia and the country shifted operations to minimize personal contact, doctors, nurses, administrators and staff inside UVA Health are putting themselves on the front lines and working nonstop to help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
They are providing immediate care – treating patients, answering questions, cleaning and sanitizing care centers and educating the public – and working on solutions to help stop the pandemic, including developing possible vaccines and working to fill national testing shortages.
This week, after a whirlwind effort from physicians, laboratorians and researchers across UVA, UVA Health developed and began administering its own COVID-19 tests.
“Our leadership team is working around the clock to ensure our patients and health care teams are safe,” Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Dr. K. Craig Kent said. “I am so proud of our organization for persevering amid a complicated, constantly changing environment.”
Dr. Chris A. Ghaemmaghami, the interim chief executive officer of UVA Medical Center, said everyone across UVA Health has contributed to the effort.
“Our planning and preparedness work for COVID-19 has been a true team effort across the Medical Center and the entire health system,” Ghaemmaghami said. “I am proud of and thankful for our entire team.”
“I am so appreciative of our frontline care providers for their hard work and their efforts to serve our patients and our community,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Costi Sifri said.
![Men and Women sitting at an oval wooden table talking to each other](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_01.jpg)
![UVA health executive members sit at an oval table talking](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_02.jpg)
![Look of a computer screen that shows a global map in blue](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_03.jpg)
![UVA Health team member looking at his computer while talking to the rest of the executive team](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_04.jpg)
![View of UVA's hospital at sunset](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_05.jpg)
![Buses stopped on the side of the road waiting for passengers to board and deboard](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_06.jpg)
![Coronavirus Visitor Alert poster taped to a glass wall](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_07.jpg)
![Nurse giving a visitor hand sanitizer](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_08.jpg)
![Sign on UVA healths wall that read Emergency Department UVA Health](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_09.jpg)
![Rolling white medicine cabinets with green labels that read PPE](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_10.jpg)
![Medical equipment sitting on top of medicine carts in the hallway](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_11.jpg)
![Nurse sitting at a nurses station working on a computer](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_12.jpg)
![Empty hallways of UVA health](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_13.jpg)
![Empty hospital room, bathroom, left, and bed, right](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_14.jpg)
![UVA Health Staff Member standing at a door looking through thee glass](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_15.jpg)
![Nurse talking to a doctor wearing gloves and protective drape](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_16.jpg)
![Medical professional getting hand sanitizer out of a dispenser](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_17.jpg)
![Medical Professional talking to a patient while holding a covid-19 swap in his hand](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_18.jpg)
![Staff member sanitizing an exam room door](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_19.jpg)
![Once the test is over, a team of nurses and environmental services professionals clean every surface in the exam room thoroughly. There is a protocol that is followed rigidly to help to prevent infection transmission. Healthcare professional cleaning an exam room with a sign on the door that reads dirty room](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_20.jpg)
![White board with the words: Quote of the week, wash your hands, wear your mask, and if its wet, sticky, and not yours don't touch it! May the odds be ever in your favor](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_21.jpg)
![UVA staff member wiping down chairs in a hallway](/sites/default/files/inside_uva_health_ss_22.jpg)
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July 26, 2024