As the system CNO, I am part of the executive team that leads at the national level through the Command Center. In addition, my leadership dyad partner—the national CMO—and I met (and still meet) weekly with the division CMOs and CNOs via Zoom. 

In response to COVID-19, the diagnostics industry has been working together in an unprecedented effort to ensure patients and providers have access to testing.

Great Plains Health in North Platte, Neb., is a 116-bed independent health system that serves 38-counties in west-central Nebraska, northern Kansas and northeastern Colorado.

We spent a majority of the first month of COVID-19 creating plans for alternate care sites for the ED to accommodate surges in patient activity. Everybody was learning. The personal protective equipment challenges were top of mind, along with thinking about how to deploy staff. 

Protecting public health and the lives of vulnerable residents has been front and center for the Detroit Health Department. In the first month of the pandemic, Detroit’s case and death count initially began rising slowly but quickly escalated, taking nearly 500 of our neighbors’ lives in just a few weeks. 

The first month of the pandemic was chaotic. In the laboratory, COVID-19 testing protocols changed daily based on national shortages of test kits for COVID-19. It was imperative that test results were returned quickly to conserve personal protective equipment. 

Over the past few months, I led a team of colleagues who provided COVID-19 testing in underserved communities. This was particularly important for our community and in alignment with the UF Health Jacksonville’s Urban Health Alliance mission of eliminating health disparities.

After working in many different types of health systems, I was offered the opportunity to become the president and CEO of Beebe Healthcare, an independent, community-based healthcare system in Sussex County, Del. The role was an exciting chance to lead a complex healthcare system serving a diverse community with many challenges and opportunities.

During the first month of the pandemic, we went through three phases: a brief period of shock, followed by organizing ourselves as systems to respond, then implementing rapid-fire execution of solutions. 

What was the first month of the pandemic like for you? In a crisis, you have to throw out the book on how you run the operations normally. You don’t have the luxury of time when making decisions or the benefit of being perfect. 

In 2017, Hurricane Irma wrought havoc on south Florida, including the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, where 12 residents died in one day.