Michigan Matters: Detroit Confronts COVID-19
Southfield (CBS DETROIT) - As TCF Center located in the heart of the Motor City opens doors to its first Covid-19 patients, Larry Alexander, chairman of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority which oversees the facility, appears on CBS 62's Michigan Matters to talk about the transformation of the center into a makeshift hospital.
Alexander, also President/CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, appears with Senior Producer/Host Carol Cain, to discuss the pandemic's impact on the region's hospitality and convention sectors. Cain and Alexander taped the interview from their homes amid the pandemic.
TCF Center's transformation began only two weeks ago into a 1,000-bed field hospital for Covid-19 patients. A partnership of health care providers is providing , staffing and resources for it including Henry Ford Health System, McLaren Health Care, Beaumont Health and the Detroit Medical Center. TCF crews, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, worked with others to convert the facility.
Alexander shares what it's been like on the front lines as events and conventions have cancelled in droves. The Chevy Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear– which was to be held in late May—was the latest to do so this week. It joins others including the North American International Auto Show and The Henry Ford Maker Faire .
Alexander – who has run the convention bureau for over 20 years -- shared thoughts about the road ahead and what will be needed to gear back up for business once the pandemic subsides.
Then Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the Charles Stewart Mott Endowed Professor at MSU's College of Human Medicine, the pediatrician who gained acclaim for her role in uncovering dangers of the Flint water crisis on children, appears with Cain from her home to talk about her own Covid-19 diagnosis. She is among the 21,000 Michiganders diagnosed with the virus.
Hanna-Attisha talks how it impacted her life and her family's.
She offers hope to others about surviving Covid-19 and talks up the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project which is seeking people who have had the virus to donate plasma to help find a cure or vaccine.
Hanna-Attisha has donated plasma and is encouraging others to do so. Learn more https://ccpp19.org/
Watch MICHIGAN MATTERS, Sunday at 11:30am on CBS 62