‘Think about having compassion’: Weekly check-in with UMC’s Dr. Joel Hendryx

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- In an effort to deliver the most comprehensive coronavirus coverage, ABC-7 has started a weekly feature where we ask Dr. Jose Burgos, the director of internal medicine at University Medical Center, the same seven questions each week to track how the pandemic is changing. Dr. Burgos was unavailable this week, so we spoke to UMC's chief medical officer, Dr. Joel Hendryx.

Here's the Q&A for Thursday, June 11:

Mauricio Casillas (KVIA): How has this past week gone for you?

Dr. Joel Hendryxs (Chief Medical Officer, UMC): "This past week has gone good. Whereas we have not seen a big increase in the number of Covid patients. We haven't seen a large decrease. We're doing well."

Casillas: Can hospitals handle the current number of patients?

Hendryxs: "The hospitals here in El Paso communicate their resources, and yes, we can do that."

Casillas: What should people at home be doing right now?

Hendryxs: "As the community opens up, as sporting activities occur, people should be aware of their environment. As they go forward, be aware of venues that aren't doing the guidelines to protect themselves."

Casillas: What is the most eye-opening thing you’ve seen this week?

Hendryxs: "We see both young and old who have fought this disease, and they've battled to be able to be discharged from this hospital, and to be able to go home to their families. That is so heart-warming to see them make that change and fight the virus and be able to go home."

Casillas: What is your prediction for next week?

Hendryxs: "Our prediction is that we will continue to have Covid cases. We don't want to have spikes. We anticipate that we are going to be getting more non-covid patients because the individuals who have been at home are not able to get care or afraid to get care are going to be coming out with serious conditions that may require hospitalization."

Casillas: What is giving you hope at this time?

Hendryxs: "We get lost in the numbers, but people are who are affected with this disease. Hope is we are getting better."

Casillas: What is your message to the Borderland?

Hendryxs: "We want to think about having compassion for our neighbors and our family. We want to make sure that we have acts of kindness for our spirit. That is important as we go through this battle with this virus."

Statistics for June 11:

• 3,650 total cases, 1,015 active cases, 97 deaths in El Paso County

Here's a list of earlier segments:

• April 9 Q&A: (225 cases , 1 death in El Paso County)
• April 16 Q&A: (451 cases, 7 deaths in El Paso County)
• April 23 Q&A: (675 total cases, 543 active cases, 10 deaths)
• April 30 Q&A: (924 total cases, 506 active cases, 21 deaths)
• May 7 Q&A: (1,190 total cases, 541 active cases, 30 deaths)
• May 14 Q&A: (1,607 total cases, 771 active cases, 43 deaths)
• May 21 Q&A: (2,046 total cases, 883 active cases, 57 deaths)
• May 28 Q&A: (2,569 total cases, 1,032 active cases, 72 deaths)
• June 4 Q&A: (3,069 total cases, 1,059 active cases, 89 deaths)