Media Coverage for May 2020

^{KVIA - May 29, 2020}

Dr. Armando Meza, an infectious disease expert, recommends using safety measures while out in public.

^{Sen. Jose Rodriguez (twitter) - May 28, 2020}

@UTEP

and

@TTUHSCEP

are reopening to students this fall, and

@EPCCNews

hasn’t made a final reopening decision. Students can expect more online and hybrid courses this fall, social distancing in classrooms, required face coverings and temperature checks.

^{UTEP President (twitter) - May 28, 2020}

A new agreement between UTEP, the City of El Paso (@ElPasoTXGov) and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (@TTUHSCEP) will enable UTEP to help the city Department of Public Health with COVID-19 testing. Learn more: https://utepn.ws/2TMwJvr

^{UT System (twitter) - May 28, 2020}

A new agreement between UTEP, the City of El Paso (@ElPasoTXGov) and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (@TTUHSCEP) will enable UTEP to help the city Department of Public

^{KVIA - May 28, 2020}

In early April, the City of el Paso reached out to UTEP and the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso for help. The city was having trouble processing the thousands of COVID-19 test samples they had received. Today the City of El Paso and Texas Tech agreed to work together to help get people of the borderland their results back faster. The city will move their equipment and some personnel to UTEP where more room is available for the FDA approved equipment that is necessary.

^{Cesar Blanco - twitter - May 28, 2020}

 El Paso's higher education institutions plan for gradual campus reopenings in fall https://elpasotimes.com/story/news/education/2020/05/28/coronavirus-utep-epcc-campus-reopening-fall-2020/3116630001/… via

@elpasotimes

@UTEP

@TTUHSCEP

@EPCCNews

^{El Paso Times - May 28, 2020}

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso's 770 students will return to campus in early July, when its fall semester begins. It too moved its spring semester online in March, but clinical rotations continued for medical and nursing students.

Although part of the Texas Tech University System, TTUHSC El Paso has full autonomy to determine when it reopens.

"I have the benefit of having the collaboration and partnership and collective wisdom of all of our institutions, but we have the freedom to do whatever is best for our particular campus," TTUHSC El Paso President Dr. Richard Lange said.

^{KFOX - twitter - May 27, 2020}

A new agreement between the city of El Paso,

@UTEP

and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso will help the city's Department of Public Health expand #COVID19 testing in the area.>

^{Noticias Ya - May 27, 2020}

Un nuevo acuerdo entre la Universidad de Texas en  (UTEP), la Ciudad de El Paso y el Centro de Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad Tecnológica de Texas El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) permitirá a UTEP ayudar al Departamento de Salud Pública de la ciudad con las pruebas COVID-19 .

Por petición de la ciudad, UTEP compró un equipo aprobado por la FDA que se ha configurado, calibrado y probado, y está listo para procesar las pruebas COVID-19. El equipo puede procesar alrededor de 500 muestras de COVID-19 en un día de ocho horas. Le dará a la ciudad más capacidad para evaluar muestras durante la noche y obtener resultados para los pacientes rápidamente.

^{KTSM - May 27, 2020}

The partnership also includes TTUHSC El Paso, whose Pathology Department Chair serves as the medical doctor overseeing the city lab.

“Since we first began to experience the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in our region, the priorities of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso have remained focused on helping to save lives in the community in any way we can,” said Richard Lange, M.D., president of TTUHSC El Paso. “By extending our resources and uniting with UTEP and the City of El Paso, we hope to put families in our community at ease during this uncertain time.”

^{KVIA - May 27, 2020}

A new agreement between The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the City of El Paso and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) will enable UTEP to help the city Department of Public Health with COVID-19 testing.

At the city’s request, UTEP purchased FDA-approved equipment that has been set up, calibrated and tested, and is ready to process COVID-19 tests.

The equipment can process about 500 COVID-19 samples in an eight-hour day. It will give the city more capacity to assess samples overnight and get results to patients quickly.

^{El Paso Herald Post - May 27, 2020}

A new agreement between The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the City of El Paso and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) will enable UTEP to help the city Department of Public Health with COVID-19 testing.

At the city’s request, UTEP purchased FDA-approved equipment that has been set up, calibrated and tested, and is ready to process COVID-19 tests.

The equipment can process about 500 COVID-19 samples in an eight-hour day. It will give the city more capacity to assess samples overnight and get results to patients quickly.

^{El Paso Electric - twitter - May 27, 2020}

Thank you to

@ElPasoElectric

for their $5,000 donation to The Student Frontline Emergency Fund! The fund was created to assist students who are unable to meet expenses due to temporary hardship or emergencies related to COVID-19. #YearOfTheNurse2020

^{TrialSite News - May 26, 2020}

In various parts around America, there is an urgent need for COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors. In Chicago, Illinois, the first responders (police and firefighters), along with the Chicago Medical Society and blood collection organization Vitalant, collaborate to recruit donors while way down in El Paso, Texas, University Medical Center of El Paso, El Paso Children’s Hospital, and Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso urge those who have recovered from COVID-19 to give back and donate convalescent plasma.

^{KFOX - twitter - May 26, 2020}

The Student Frontline Emergency Fund was created to assist

@TTUHSCEP

students who are unable to meet immediate, essential expenses due to unforeseen emergencies related to the #COVID19.

^{KTSM - May 26, 2020}

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso announced a $5,000 contribution from El Paso Electric to the university’s Student Frontline Emergency Fund, on Monday.

According to a release, the fund provides needed relief to address the current and future needs of students who are already serving in our local hospitals during their clinical rotations.

The fund was created to assist TTUHSC El Paso students who are unable to meet immediate, essential expenses due to temporary hardships related to COVID-19.

^{KTSM - facebook - May 26, 2020}

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso announced a $5,000 contribution from El Paso Electric to the university’s Student Frontline Emergency Fund, on Monday.

^{KVIA - May 26, 2020}

On Tuesday, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso announced a $5,000 contribution from El Paso Electric to the university’s Student Frontline Emergency Fund.

“We are truly grateful for the commitment to our community from students at TTUHSC El Paso, who are on the front lines as part of this fight,” said El Paso Electric Vice President of Community Engagement Eddie Gutierrez. “We hope that our contribution to the Student Frontline Emergency Fund will help provide the basic needs for these students so they can stay focused on the mission at hand.”

^{KFOX - May 26, 2020}

On Tuesday, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso announced a $5,000 contribution from El Paso Electric to the university’s Student Frontline Emergency Fund.

The Student Frontline Emergency Fund was created to assist TTUHSC El Paso students who are unable to meet immediate, essential expenses due to temporary hardship or unforeseen emergencies related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

^{KTSM - May 26, 2020}

On Tuesday, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso announced a $5,000 contribution from El Paso Electric to the university’s Student Frontline Emergency Fund.

The Student Frontline Emergency Fund was created to assist TTUHSC El Paso students who are unable to meet immediate, essential expenses due to temporary hardship or unforeseen emergencies related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

^{El Paso Herald Post - May 26, 2020}

On Tuesday, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso announced a $5,000 contribution from El Paso Electric to the university’s Student Frontline Emergency Fund.

“We are truly grateful for the commitment to our community from students at TTUHSC El Paso, who are on the front lines as part of this fight,” said El Paso Electric Vice President of Community Engagement Eddie Gutierrez. “We hope that our contribution to the Student Frontline Emergency Fund will help provide the basic needs for these students so they can stay focused on the mission at hand.”

^{El Paso Matters - May 25, 2020}

There may never be a clear answer as to why El Pasoans cleared store shelves of toilet paper weeks before the first reported case of COVID-19 hit the borderland, an expert says.

Ten weeks into the pandemic officially reaching El Paso, the once mundane albeit necessary hygiene product suddenly turned hot commodity is slowly returning to store shelves.

Dr. Fabrizzio Delgado, division chief for the psychiatry consult service at Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso and assistant program director for the Internal Medicine/Psychiatry combined program, said panic buying toilet paper and other cleaning supplies was an interesting phenomenon.

^{KFOX - May 22, 2020}

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to lifestyle changes that are new to most of us.

An infectious disease specialist told KFOX14 Morning News Anchor John Purvis how this pandemic could also end one of our most common habits. In addition, he noted how we've been living with another deadly pandemic for decades.

Dr. Armando Meza has been an infectious disease specialist for more than a quarter century.

^{KRWG Radio - May 22, 2020}

On this episode, we discuss the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on mental health. Our guest is Dr. Sarah Martin with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso. Dr. Martin specializes in psychiatric illness and symptoms in people of all ages. Dr. Sarah Martin serves as an Assistant Professor and Chief of the Child and Adolescent Division at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Martin has expertise in child and adolescent psychiatry and also the psychiatric care of the American soldier.

^{KVIA - May 22, 2020}

Underlying health conditions continue to make things worse for patients who have contracted Covid-19. According to data provided by city/county health officials, a vast majority of patients who have died from the virus in El Paso had hypertension and diabetes.

Dr. Anthony Catinella with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso said that when diabetes is poorly controlled, high fat content and high blood sugar create a chronic inflammatory state that's directed against one's own body. "In addition, the blood cells that fight off faction become very sluggish, they don't react in quite the same way," Dr. Catinella explained, making it harder for the body to get rid of the infection.

^{El Diario de El Paso - May 20, 2020}

Pareja dona su plasma con anticuerpos a contagiados activos. Una pareja paseña que resultó positiva por Covid-19 y ahora se encuentra recuperada del virus, insta a aquellos que han sido diagnosticados y afrontado la enfermedad a donar plasma.

Alan y Patty Russell descubrieron que lo que había sido diagnosticado primeramente como influenza, era el coronavirus contagiado en un viaje reciente hecho a Florida.

^{KFOX - May 19, 2020}

Community members and businesses are contributing to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso’s Raider Aid Food Pantry to ensure students in need are receiving essential food items and pantry staples.

The RaiderAid Food Pantry has seen an increase in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic hit El Paso.

^{CBS 4 Local - May 19, 2020}

Community members and businesses are contributing to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso’s Raider Aid Food Pantry to ensure students in need are receiving essential food items and pantry staples.

^{KFOX - May 19, 2020}

The pantry is open to all TTUHSC El Paso students and can be accessed any day of the week.

Nonperishable items for breakfast, lunch and dinner are available, as well as some cold items and drinks.

^{CBS 4 Local - May 19, 2020}

Community members and businesses are contributing to the

@TTUHSCEP

RaiderAid Food Pantry to ensure students in need are receiving essential food items and pantry staples.

^{KTSM - May 19, 2020}

The RaiderAid Food Pantry hosted by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso is receiving a lot of contributions from community members and businesses who want to ensure students in need are receiving essential food items and pantry staples.

The pantry is open to all TTUHSC El Paso students and can be accessed any day of the week. Nonperishable items for breakfast, lunch and dinner are available, as well as some cold items and drinks.

^{El Paso Herald Post - May 19, 2020}

Community members and businesses are contributing to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso’s RaiderAid Food Pantry to ensure students in need are receiving essential food items and pantry staples.

The RaiderAid Food Pantry has seen an increase in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic hit El Paso.

“Recent donations for the food pantry are greatly appreciated, as they go directly to supporting our students,” said Javier Calzadillas, senior analyst at TTUHSC El Paso’s Foster School of Medicine.

^{KTSM - May 19, 2020}

According to the most recent numbers released by the city, those who died from COVID-19 in El Paso county, 53 percent of them had diabetes as an underlying condition. That is second only to hypertension. Joining us now to talk about this is Dr. Peter Catinella with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso Transmountain clinic

^{KTSM - May 18, 2020}

After taking an antibody test and learning it came out positive for COVID-19, Patty and Alan Russell went to Vitalant to donate their plasma.

As the number of COVID-19 cases have continued to rise in the Borderland, so have the number of recoveries. One El Paso couple who has recovered from the virus is urging other recovered patients to consider donating plasma.

After taking an antibody test and learning it came out positive for COVID-19, Patty and Alan Russell went to Vitalant in West El Paso to donate their plasma.

^{El Paso Inc. - May 17, 2020}

By Stephanie Woods / Dean, Hunt School of Nursing

I recently helped celebrate the class of 2020’s graduation from the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Of course, I did this from my computer.

But don’t assume our new graduates remotely participated in this pandemic.

Nursing students are told early in their training that someday they may face a choice between their professional obligations and their own health, or the health of their family.

But no one expected for this choice to come so soon, or for it to be so stark. Still, our students stepped up, and our community should recognize the extraordinary service of all nursing students during this time.

^{KVIA - May 17, 2020}

This past week, we featured a couple who contracted COVID-19 but have made that full recovery. Alan Russell and Patty Chagra then took it a step further by donating plasma. Plasma is full of antibodies that are credited with helping infected patients recover. A doctor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso tells ABC-7 there is a severe shortage of plasma in our community. In that story, we explained how the process of plasma donation works.

^{KVIA - May 15, 2020}

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has laid out guidelines to partially reopen gyms to anxious members. Gym owners will have to reduce their operating capacity to 25% and enforce social distance in their workout spaces.

Heath experts, though, are not completely on board with the move to open gyms. The chief of infectious diseases at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso believes that going to the gym is a risk individuals will have to weigh on their own.

"You need to have a very high level of awareness of what it is that you are getting into when you go to a gym. Asymptomatic carriers that we know exist now can feel perfectly healthy, and they are still going to pass the infection to someone," said Dr. Armando Meza.

^{KVIA - May 15, 2020}

The fight against Covid-19 has sent healthcare workers into battle against an enemy they cannot see. Fernando Gonzalez's job is to track that enemy, the virus, down.

"The main objective is to protect the individual and public health of our community and our region," Gonzalez said.

The department can then isolate those who may be infected after exposure to the individual and get them tested.

"The tracing is critical provided you receive the information in an accurate way," said Dr. Armando Meza, an infectious disease expert with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso.

Dr. Meza says the data can help lead contact tracers to possible outbreaks before they begin.

^{KFOX - May 14, 2020}

An El Paso couple that recovered from the coronavirus has a message for other survivors: Please donate plasma. The couple is doing what they can to help others by donating their plasma, in hopes of helping others recover from the virus. The couple decided to do their part and their hoping to inspire more. 

"We had a gift that we might be able to save someone's life so it was really a no brainer for us to donate it," said Patty Russell. “We were told that our donation would treat four people. A gift that could potentially save lives.”

^{KVIA - May 13, 2020}

An El Paso couple that recovered from the coronavirus has a message for other survivors: Please donate plasma. The couple decided to do their part and their hoping to inspire more. "We had a gift that we might be able to save someone's life so it was really a no brainer for us to donate it," said Patty Russell. “We were told that our donation would treat four people. A gift that could potentially save lives.”

^{KVIA - May 12, 2020}

The antiviral medication remdesivir is on the way to El Paso and will soon be used by the staff at University Medical Center.

Preliminary data from clinical trials has shown remdesivir’s ability to cut down on recovery time in Covid-19 patients.

“There is a use for it that will be appropriate for some patients, but others will not benefit so much," said Dr. Armando Meza, chief of infectious diseases at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. "This is not a cure at all, but there will be a maximum benefit to those who need it.”

^{El Paso Matters - May 11, 2020}

El Paso hospitals in the fight to help heal patients with COVID-19 are calling on the hundreds of survivors of the illness in the area to donate their convalescent plasma.

University Medical Center of El Paso, El Paso Children’s Hospital and Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso are asking that those who have tested positive and fully recovered from the disease donate their plasma, which contains antibodies that may help patients recover.

^{El Paso Inc. - May 11, 2020}

Was the fever – along with the chills, the aches, fatigue and that stubborn dry cough – I had back in February actually COVID-19?

It’s a question El Pasoan Patty Russell couldn’t get off her mind, like many Americans, as she learned more about the coronavirus symptoms and as it became clear that the disease was

being passed around in the U.S. long before its spread was first confirmed in late February.

^{Facebook - Paso del Norte Health Foundation - May 10, 2020}

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso’s psychiatry department is launching a telephone hotline May 18 as part of the newly created Child Psychiatry Access Network (CPAN). Primary care providers will be able to call the CPAN hotline to get advice about child and adolescent patients with psychiatric symptoms.

The hotline will be staffed by TTUHSC El Paso psychiatry department faculty members and staff.

^{KVIA - May 10, 2020}

COVID-19 cases continue to spike in El Paso. Social distancing is encouraged. Dr. Amando Meza, an infectious disease specialist with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, said "we know the incubation period is about two weeks to see the results. I am hopeful that that will not occur. I understand that there's a social need to interact and that is human nature to have interactions among individuals. I believe that humans can change behavior

^{KVIA - May 8, 2020}

Dr. Armando Meza, an infectious disease expert at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso says the difference between a test you do on your own and one by a health care worker is really the discomfort level, and it allows more social distancing. 

^{KTSM - May 8, 2020}

According to a release, three hotel rooms have been made available to accommodate individual nursing students completing clinical rounds at hospitals who need a place to stay while isolating for the safety and health of their families.

^{Twitter - KTSM - May 8, 2020}

According to a release, three hotel rooms have been made available to accommodate individual nursing students completing clinical rounds at hospitals who need a place to stay while isolating for the safety and health of their families.

^{Twitter – El Paso Herald Post - May 8, 2020}

The hospitality industry is doing its part to lend a helping hand as the COVID-19 health crisis continues.

^{Facebook – El Paso Herald Post - May 8, 2020}

The hospitality industry is doing its part to lend a helping hand as the COVID-19 health crisis continues.

^{KTSM Ch. 9 - May 8, 2020}

Three hotel rooms have been made available to accommodate individual nursing students completing clinical rounds at hospitals who need a place to stay while isolating for the safety and health of their families. 

Hunt School of Nursing student Jenny Moya is a participant in the free hotel room program.

“Being a nursing student who wants nothing more than to care for patients in their time of need, it’s helpful to have a hotel to isolate after a weekend of clinicals,” Moya said. 

^{El Paso Herald-Post - May 8, 2020}

Three hotel rooms have been made available to accommodate individual nursing students completing clinical rounds at hospitals who need a place to stay while isolating for the safety and health of their families. 

Hunt School of Nursing student Jenny Moya is a participant in the free hotel room program.

“Being a nursing student who wants nothing more than to care for patients in their time of need, it’s helpful to have a hotel to isolate after a weekend of clinicals,” Moya said. 

^{El Paso Matters - May 7, 2020}

Substance abuse issues, whether in the midst of COVID-19 or not, never subside. How treatment centers and addiction specialists approach clients and patients has been altered during these times. Dr. Fabrizzio A. Delgado, division chief for the psychiatry consult service at Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, said during the first week or two of the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a slight decrease in the number of patients he was seeing at University Medical Center where he and his team primarily work.

^{TVEyes Broadcast Media Monitoring - May 7, 2020}

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso has been honoring the nurses on the front lines of the pandemic. This morning, nurses and nursing students at UMC, El Paso Children's Hospital, and the Hospitals of Providence Transmountain campus were treated to an appreciation breakfast and it's all leading up to the nursing school's first virtual graduation on Saturday. Joining me now is Hunt School of Nursing Dean Dr. Stephanie Woods.

^{KVIA.com - May 7, 2020}

Several El Paso nurses have taken their skills to the hotbed for the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States. Heath Bailey is one of them. The pediatric cardiac nurse from El Paso Children's Hospital has been in New York City for a month. "I signed up to be a nurse for this specific reason: to help people," Bailey said. "I'm not going to shy away from that even in a time like this."

^{El Paso Inc. - May 6, 2020}

Photos: @TTUHSCEP and @girlscouts deliver cookies to local health care professionals

^{TTUHSC El Paso - May 6, 2020}

Thank you to the generous alumni and friends who gave yesterday to #COVID19 relief efforts across the #TTUSystem! Your #GivingTuesdayNow gifts are making a difference for our students and the communities we serve! #RedRaidersGive #TexasTech #TTUHSC #TTUHSCEP

^{TVEyes Broadcast Media Monitoring - May 6, 2020}

KVIA - How to talk to kids about COVID-19 fears

Dr. Sarah Martin with Texas Tech Physicians of el Paso says it's important to be truthful with kids asking questions but keep the answers simple and age-appropriate. She also advises keeping kids focused on 'kid- responsibilities' and things they can control. Most importantly? Keep your own anxiety in check. Another 51 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in El Paso, that means there have been 1080 cases in the county. No new deaths have been announced since Friday, a total of 22 people have died.

^{KFOX - May 5, 2020}

Medical Students from El Paso are looking to put their knowledge to good use during the pandemic. Many medical students at the Foster School of Medicine are volunteering their time to help the County's health department. They are calling and texting the high-risk individuals in the borderland and keeping tabs with them. I am an El Paso native, born here and raised here. I have a lot of strong connections in the community and a lot of love for the community. When the pandemic happened, I really wanted a way to get involved and he way to help reduce transmission.

^{El Paso Herald-Post - May 4, 2020}

“This is an excellent opportunity for our students to apply their knowledge in epidemiology with instruction and collaboration with the Department of Public Health. While not receiving academic credit, they are experiencing hands-on learning that will benefit their practice of medicine throughout their careers.”

^{El Paso Herald-Post - May 4, 2020}

^{El Paso Herald-Post - May 4, 2020}

Over 40 Foster School of Medicine students are ready to do their part to help during the COVID-19 pandemic in El Paso.

The health department organized the outreach effort, and the students began their work with the health department recently.

“We are truly proud of our students volunteering to help our community,” said Linda Ellis, M.D., M.J., M.A., FACP, associate dean of student affairs at the Foster School of Medicine.

^{El Paso Herald-Post - May 4, 2020}

University Medical Center of El Paso (UMC), El Paso Children’s Hospital (EPCH) and Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso (TTP El Paso) urge any individuals who have fully recovered from novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to donate convalescent plasma as a key weapon in the fight against the virus. Vitalant, the nation’s largest independent blood provider, has launched a program to treat COVID-19 patients with blood plasma donated by people who have recovered from the disease.