"From organizing babysitters for health care workers to working on a COVID-19 hotline run by the poison center to help answer questions from the public, Vanderbilt students are finding ways to help."

Thank you @knoxnews & @monica_kast! Let me share a little about those students: https://twitter.com/BillCutrerMD/status/1249874235809398784

In our first 2 weeks at the Poison Center COVID Hotline, @VUmedicine student @nicoklooster gave 34hrs outside of her regular school work to take calls about #COVID19 from the @visitmusiccity and #Tennessee public, offering reassurance, resources and answers where we have them.

As a group, @VUmedicine students have volunteered >420 hours with the hotline, and a core group of 17 students have given 326 of those hours. Over and over I hear how good it feels to stay connected with patients even over the telephone line. I am just...stunned by my classmates.

The Telehealth team, led by @kaustav_shah, @RomanGusdorf and Austin Triana, has >150 active volunteers who have given 720 hours since March 24th, ensuring that the patients of dozens of @VUMChealth clinics can stay in care. The stories are reliably heartwarming...

Reportedly, one patient picked up the phone while working out in their cow field, and "hello?" was overshadowed by "MOOOO!"

@Ayeshamyar connected with someone's grandparent, first teaching them how to use their iPhone buttons, then how to have their clinic visit.

Thanks to @dhypatia's hard work, @VUMC_obgyn can now connect with patients <18 through #telehealth. This gives young people access to necessary, confidential care. Demetra, my good friend, always thinks about who's left out, & how to include them-she'll make an incredible #GynOnc

Perhaps most striking, one #telehealth volunteer met a future silent teaching partner. This is the title of honor & respect that we give to those who donate their bodies, after death, to MDs-in-training @VUMChealth so that we may master the anatomical sciences from their gift.

I've often thought of what I'd say to my silent teaching partners, if I could. I hope they know that they're unforgettable- that a tattoo, painted nail or scar is as memorable as how their anatomy forms the foundation of my medical knowledge. Their gift is precious & unparalleled

The Family Support Program, run by @ThaoDVLe, has more than 80 @VUmedicine volunteers organized by 13 coordinators, & serving nearly 70 families with ~425 hours volunteered. While the US often devalues childcare, I think of the care of children as some of our most important work.

Thank you, @VUMChealth for trusting us with your families - caring for our colleagues' most precious people is such a personal privilege. To me, the best silver linings from the horror of #COVID19 are the ways we are showing up for others, & remembering that we need one another.

At @NashvilleHealth, 14 students have trained to do contact-tracing interviews with Lentz Public Health Ctr. Among them: @SaiRajagopalan, @CoopMarch, @Adrian_G_Cadar, and @OGDonaldMSTP. Our H&P training from @VUmedicine can now help to keep #Tennessee safe & informed. Steven S.

Also @NashvilleHealth, 2 @VUmedicine students will soon begin outreach to immigrant & refugee communities with @tnimmigrant. Using their Spanish & Arabic, @depereira123 and Mark Naguib are uniquely qualified to support communities that deserve culturally-conscientious care.

Since my time at @mtholyoke, I've been in awe of peers who speak 2+ languages. In the current crisis, I'm reminded that #HealthEquity and #DEI work are deeply linked. The language skills of @depereira123, @ThaoDVLe & others are saving lives by ensuring no one is left behind.

@ThaoDVLe and Christian Nguyen (M2) are working with @2HarvestMidTN to deliver groceries to community members, now working on ways to include @VUMC_Cancer patients. Among our wonderful volunteers is @lematevish, future surgeon extraordinaire!

Every day, @VUmedicine students & faculty come up with new ideas. @Ayeshamyar is working on a program to connect with patients in the hospital experiencing isolation with #COVID19 visitor restrictions. @shadetreeclinic has continued a student-run, free clinic despite a pandemic.

It is such a privilege to represent the work @VUmedicine, and I would be terribly remiss not to raise up the many people involved. I want you to know them, because as @ThaoDVLe and I send emails, build spreadsheets, & go to Zoom meetings, I hold the names of these 400 volunteers.

In a moment when fear & loss come with ease & abundance, my classmates inspire me & give me hope.

We often believe humanism comes from good values - it also comes from vulnerability, uncertainty, & isolation. This humble humanism makes me feel paradoxically connected. @GoldFdtn

Finally, I hope that if you're reading this as a patient, healthcare worker, or just a human in the world, you hear about my classmates & feel a little more cared for, and a little less alone. I hope it brings you the same hope I feel, to know they will be your doctor someday