An Anesthesiologist's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Tripti Kataria, MD, MPH, FASA

As an anesthesiologist, I practiced office-based anesthesia and did Medicare compliance for many years. When the pandemic hit, my clinical practice came to a grinding halt. I first spent my time learning as much as I could about SARS-CoV2. When I realized I would not be working as a physician at any time in the near future, I began to feel a sense of guilt because I was not on the front lines, and I wanted to help treat people and support my profession during this public health emergency.

I soon found another way to help my community. The Chicago Medical Society (CMS) convened a COVID-19 taskforce comprised of infectious disease physicians (private practice and academic) and CMS board members who wanted to exchange information. As part of that group, we created a convalescent plasma donation program to help any patient with moderate to severe COVID-19 in Illinois who might benefit from this treatment. Our first task was to increase the availability of convalescent plasma. We heard from both recovering patients  who wanted to donate their serum, but did not know how to do so, and from community physicians who wanted to prescribe it, but did not have access to the treatment. To help facilitate a mechanism for donation, CMS and Metro Infectious Disease Consultants partnered with Vitalant to set up a program that only serves patients In he Illinois. This has allowed CMS and the COVID taskforce to direct plasma to underserved communities and the hospitals that serve them.

Congressman Danny Davis, representing the 7th Congressional District, has been a big supporter of our program. His district includes five academic institutions and a large African American and Latinx population. In early June, we held a press conference with him where he recruited members of the Chicago Police and Fire Departments from his district who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their plasma. These first responders felt a connection to their community, and hoped to improve outcomes with their donated plasma.  

The massive demonstrations against police brutality that rocked our country in the wake of George Floyd’s death have really made me think about my role as a physician. The Hippocratic Oath says

“I will prevent disease wherever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings…” 

As healers we need to advocate for the health and safety of not only individuals but their communities. Health is not just about going to the doctor and taking a pill. Social determinants play a large role in health. Unfortunately, huge healthcare disparities exist in Chicago. As a physician I believe in the need to help all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation and treat everyone with respect. I also believe physicians need to go one step further. We need to make a commitment to reducing healthcare disparities and look at healthcare more broadly than what we see in our clinics. We need to see that for some of our patients it takes them hours via public transportation to get to clinic. We need to see that they may live in a food desert or they may not be able to afford fresh produce. We need to see that our patients may live in multigenerational dwellings with overcrowding making it difficult to isolate thereby putting them at risk for COVID-19.

As healers we need to advocate for the health and safety of not only individuals but their communities. Health is not just about going to the doctor and taking a pill. Social determinants play a large role in health. Unfortunately, huge healthcare disparities exist in Chicago. As a physician I believe in the need to help all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation and treat everyone with respect. I also believe physicians need to go one step further. We need to make a commitment to reducing healthcare disparities and look at healthcare more broadly than what we see in our clinics. We need to see that for some of our patients it takes them hours via public transportation to get to clinic. We need to see that they may live in a food desert or they may not be able to afford fresh produce. We need to see that our patients may live in multigenerational dwellings with overcrowding making it difficult to isolate thereby putting them at risk for COVID-19.

As COVID-19 has forced us to be innovative, I believe that we can spread that innovation to other areas of healthcare. Can we partner with food banks or grocery stores and write a “prescription” for fresh vegetables? Can we partner with a start up to provide rideshares to ensure our patients make it their clinic appointments? Going forward as I continue to advocate for access to high quality healthcare, I will remember my patients and their basic needs. I promise to look for opportunities for partnerships to help address social determinants that contribute to healthcare disparities.