More than 2,100 employees at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have been redeployed to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including chief of orthopedic surgery, Mitchel Harris, MD, The Boston Globe reports.
Dr. Harris, an orthopedic trauma specialist, canceled most of his surgeries and is only operating on patients with urgent cases, such as tumors.
During the pandemic, he has shifted to various roles, including a scribe, taking notes in a clinic for patients with COVID-19 symptoms. He is helping out wherever the hospital needs him.
All types of hospital staff are being reassigned as needed to deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases. As of 9:25 a.m. CDT April 21, Massachusetts has recorded 3,804 hospitalizations related to the virus.
"Our greatest discomfort right now is our lack of being able to help other individuals the way we know best to do," Dr. Harris told The Globe. "So the second-best is to help individuals in a way we're not used to. We're ready to embrace our role in helping the institution get through the crisis."