WEBVTT 00:00.695 --> 00:03.278 (upbeat music) 00:05.300 --> 00:06.410 - When the pandemic began 00:06.410 --> 00:08.460 to inundate civilian medical personnel, 00:08.460 --> 00:09.490 the army was ready with 00:09.490 --> 00:11.810 the Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force. 00:11.810 --> 00:13.880 Colonel John Balser, when army community 00:13.880 --> 00:16.530 hospital's Deputy Commander for Medical Services, 00:16.530 --> 00:18.320 was assigned to provide medical support 00:18.320 --> 00:19.560 to McAllen Medical Center. 00:19.560 --> 00:21.030 - I was part of the team 00:21.030 --> 00:23.720 and this team worked together incredible. 00:23.720 --> 00:27.400 I've never seen a team work so cohesively before. 00:27.400 --> 00:29.400 - The UAMTF is an elite group 00:29.400 --> 00:31.720 of medical service members who work collaboratively 00:31.720 --> 00:34.130 to provide medical support, resources, 00:34.130 --> 00:36.510 and staff to cities and communities whose hospitals 00:36.510 --> 00:38.430 have been overwhelmed with the COVID 19. 00:38.430 --> 00:39.750 - We found a system that was 00:39.750 --> 00:40.930 at the verge of collapse. 00:40.930 --> 00:43.960 There were 42 patients in the emergency room 00:43.960 --> 00:46.750 waiting for a bed somewhere in the hospital. 00:46.750 --> 00:48.920 There was an additional 96 00:48.920 --> 00:51.550 in the outline freestanding emergency rooms 00:51.550 --> 00:53.720 that were trying to get to the hospital. 00:53.720 --> 00:55.750 - The Winn team deployed with no time to spare, 00:55.750 --> 00:57.530 as they provided much needed support 00:57.530 --> 00:59.700 to the staff on the front lines of the pandemic. 00:59.700 --> 01:02.300 - A lot of the nurses, a lot of the doctors 01:02.300 --> 01:04.900 they were working 90 plus days nonstop, 01:04.900 --> 01:06.400 since it started in March, 01:06.400 --> 01:07.680 they were hit hard in Houston. 01:07.680 --> 01:09.750 - Initially, we were interspersed 01:09.750 --> 01:12.210 throughout the hospital in the different sections 01:12.210 --> 01:14.320 but then eventually gave us our own ward. 01:14.320 --> 01:17.720 It was an inpatient ward plus we had ICU beds. 01:17.720 --> 01:19.980 And so everybody started coalescing up there 01:19.980 --> 01:21.870 and so we started accepting nothing 01:21.870 --> 01:23.650 but Corona Virus patients, 01:23.650 --> 01:25.470 essentially all levels of acuity 01:25.470 --> 01:28.350 - Captain Daniel Karakas, a registered nurse with Winn, 01:28.350 --> 01:31.090 deployed with specialist Carlos Sanchez Morales, 01:31.090 --> 01:33.880 a nutrition care specialist to Houston Texas 01:33.880 --> 01:35.670 at United Memorial Medical Center. 01:35.670 --> 01:39.380 - I was part of the 35 patient COVID unit. 01:39.380 --> 01:41.470 - As a nutritionist, Sanchez Morales, 01:41.470 --> 01:42.720 helped modify the menu 01:42.720 --> 01:44.510 to better serve the needs of COVID patients, 01:44.510 --> 01:45.970 but realized their efforts would go 01:45.970 --> 01:47.200 beyond their normal role. 01:47.200 --> 01:51.030 - I was changed to pretty much be a nurse assistant. 01:51.030 --> 01:52.550 So we took care of the patient, 01:52.550 --> 01:55.010 we fed them, we cleaned them if they needed to, 01:55.010 --> 01:55.920 we took vitals. 01:55.920 --> 01:57.730 It was a new experience for me. 01:57.730 --> 01:58.870 I've never done it before, 01:58.870 --> 02:01.060 but as the days went by, I got adapted to it 02:01.060 --> 02:02.160 and the army training, 02:02.160 --> 02:04.190 and the training that I've done here at Winn, 02:04.190 --> 02:05.250 has definitely helped me out 02:05.250 --> 02:07.220 and overcome challenges over there. 02:07.220 --> 02:08.880 - Winn stands ready to provide support 02:08.880 --> 02:10.040 wherever it is needed. 02:10.040 --> 02:11.020 And is proud to be part 02:11.020 --> 02:12.150 of this collaborative effort 02:12.150 --> 02:14.518 to fight the pandemic across the nation. 02:14.518 --> 02:17.101 (upbeat music)