For 70 years, April 7 has marked the recognition of World Health Day. It has always served as an opportunity to shine a light on the critical aspects of global health. This year, it goes without saying, that we as global citizens are facing, and uniting to fight, the unprecedented impact of COVID-19.
Our nurses, healthcare workers and first responders are working tirelessly on the frontlines of COVID-19. And let’s not forget that, in the midst of a pandemic, this critical community is still performing their usual heroics of delivering babies, performing emergency surgeries and providing much-needed emotional support amid fear and uncertainty.
On behalf of Dell Technologies, we cannot say “thank you” enough. We are inspired by your commitment and humbled to be able to play a role, working with our customers, partners and team members to support those fighting to contain and treat the virus. Here are a few examples of how we are lending our support through our technology, donations and the contributions of our team members.
Equipping the front lines with technology
Hospitals and medical facilities globally are working through increasing technology needs to serve the influx of patients they’re caring for. We are partnering with those customers at every step, from advising which solutions can best support mobile patient care, to expediting the critical orders hospitals need right now to equip their facilities.
Our IT infrastructure donation to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China played a critical role in upgrading the computing power of the Hubei CDC. This has substantially enhanced the centers’ ability to provide public health services for over 60 million people in Hubei province.
To support the largest public health hospital in Brazil, SP Hospital das Clínicas, we donated mobile solutions to enable 3,500 physicians, nurses and support staff to collaborate in real time as they open additional treatment areas to accommodate growing cases of COVID-19.
Understanding the virus and mitigating the spread
Our advanced computing clusters are being used to understand how diseases like COVID-19 are spreading and how to better track them. These powerful data solutions are accelerating insights on the disease, including prevention methods, treatment options and where resources are most needed.
One of our longest healthcare partners is the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). TGen is conducting population-level genomic analysis to help public health organizations rapidly identify which strains of COVID-19 are circulating more than others, what might be causing local outbreaks and how fast the genome is mutating and changing. TGen’s access to Dell Technologies’ Zenith Supercomputer is helping researchers understand how and when mutations occur – ultimately helping to develop and identify targeted drugs and treatments for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) gave about 100 researchers remote access to two supercomputers built on Dell Technologies, Frontera and Stampede2. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin are using the technology to better understand how the disease is spreading and evaluate the impact of social distancing measures.
Working with the i2b2 tranSMART Foundation, we are enabling the Foundation’s open source platforms, which mobilize critical health data to the scientific and clinical research community. Timely, comprehensive data on COVID-19 patients across the globe is helping to broker research on prevention and cures, including identifying “hot spots” for where medical resources are most needed.
Leveraging the innovative power of our team to help
Across the Dell Technologies family, we are constantly looking for technology solutions to help alleviate pressure on the front lines.
Our Boomi team got together to innovate and find ways to help our communities at this time, coming up with Answers on Demand, a free question and answer ‘bot’ which sits on an organization’s website and handles the influx of questions they are fielding. For healthcare clinics and organizations, it means questions like “should I come into the clinic if I feel unwell?” or “what is telehealth?” can now be answered automatically, leaving them free to focus on serving patients.
Now more than ever, we each have a role to play, with technology helping us to adjust to “the new normal.” Staying at home and following health guidelines minimizes spread and reduces the pressure on our healthcare system. Our team members are doing their part by leveraging existing remote workplace solutions, staying connected by using video conferencing for meetings and even finding ways to support mental health, such as hosting virtual meditation sessions and leading virtual team yoga classes.
I am so proud of the collective strength of the Dell Technologies community – and humanity itself – to come together and support one another. From our first responders to small businesses to school systems, every member of our community is working through unique challenges associated with the virus. We are here to help you navigate those.
When so much is uncertain, one thing is: it’s amazing what we can do for each other and our customers, when we do it together.
