Welcome to Pillar of Hope. This is the story of an unwavering commitment by Dr. Michelle Sholzberg and her global team of clinical researchers to reduce the death rate by addressing the risk of blood clotting in patients sick with Covid-19. In this episode, we meet Dr. Michelle Sholzberg, clinical hematologist and medical director of the Coagulation Laboratory at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada. As COVID-19 reaches North America in the winter of 2020, Dr. Sholzberg discovers an unusual connection between blood clotting and deaths from this unknown respiratory infection. She forms a clinical trial and starts to build a team comprised of international doctors, reaching out to her colleagues at St. Michaels and in the United States.
Show Notes
Pillar of Hope is the story of a small and determined group of elite scientists and researcher's passionate, innovative, and unrelenting attack on COVID-19...this is a story of hope.
On this podcast you'll meet a dream team of medical professionals from around the world, all working together to improve the outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. This podcast explores the groundbreaking discovery of the innovative use of a common drug that can significantly decrease COVID-19 complications in patients. A drug that can save lives.
But, more than the study itself, this is a story that reaches deep into the hearts of the people who put their families on hold, their lives intently focused on a solution that could save countless lives around the world.
This small team of elite doctors and scientists work tirelessly to prove their theory and save lives while navigating the crippling lack of funding and government bureaucracy. You’ll hear their frustrations, their concerns, their gratitude, and without fail, their hope.
Leading the charge, Dr. Michelle Sholzberg, determined to change the course of the world’s most deadly virus. This is where their story begins.
The Rapid Covid Coag Study at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Pillar of Hope podcast series were made possible through the generous sponsorship of our partner institutions, organizations and grant providers. Learn more about this life-saving research and how you can contribute to this ongoing trial here:
St. Michael’s Foundation.
Partner institutions:- Unity Health Toronto - St. Michael's Hospital
- Unity Health Toronto - St. Joseph's Health Centre
- Trillium Health Partners (Mississauga)
- Trillium Health Partners (Credit Valley)
- Mount Sinai Health System
- Southlake Regional Health Centre
- Hôpital Charles Lemoyne
- Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont
- Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montreal
- Alberta Health Services - Foothills Medical Centre
- Alberta Health Services - Rockyview
- Alberta Health Services - Peter Lougheed Centre
- The Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus
- The Ottawa Hospital - General Hospital
- Nova Scotia Health Authority - Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
- Alberta Health Services - University of Alberta Hospital
- Humber River Hospital
- William Osler Health System - Etobicoke General Hospital
- William Osler Health System - Brampton Civic Hospital
- Michael Garron Hospital
- King Saud University Medical City
- King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center
- Al Ain Hospital
- The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital
- Hospital das Clínicas da FMUSP
- University of Campinas
- Hospital do Mandaqui - São Paulo
- Hospital Dr. Cesar Milstein
- Clínica Santa Isabel
- University of Vermont
- Versiti
- MD Anderson
- Barnes Jewish Hospital
- Jackson Memorial (2 sites)
Funders:
- St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation
- St. Joseph’s Health Centre (Toronto) Foundation
- INVENT Kickstarter Award
- Canadian Armed Forces DRDC Task 54
- The Ottawa Hospital (COVID-19 Emergency Fund, Internal Seed Funding)
- Toronto East General Hospital (TD Community Health Solutions Fund COVID-19 Research Grant)