The concept of time is challenging to get one’s mind around. At times it runs at super speed while at other times it passes at a snail’s pace. In reflecting on this past year, we have felt both extremes depending on the day, week or month. Hindsight provides lots of opportunities to break down situations and evaluate outcomes. All in all, we—all of us—did a remarkable job of managing through the onset and initial waves of COVID-19. I extend both congratulations and thanks to our area communities, as we have heard over and over, we are all in this together. My biggest “takeaways” from this past year that herald what we need to do going forward? First, there is no going back, there is only moving forward. Normal moved. Second, our current systems and processes held up very well, and we have identified ways to further build upon these. Finally, if we all step back from the swirl of media, competing stories, and wide variances of experience across the country, there are some underlying outcomes that we should not miss. So, there is no normal; what we understood to be normal is now gone. In its place is a heightened awareness of how quickly something as tiny as an unseen virus can wreak havoc throughout the entire world. Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones. The impact of this virus will echo in our memories as well as into future generations. This virus transcended national boundaries, politics, belief systems, generations, peoples and any other attribute we can imagine. What else has been able to do such a thing? We are all changed as a result. And perhaps it was time for a change. I am enormously proud of everyone at Winona Health for their perseverance, engagement, care and compassion throughout this entire experience. We have had to trust our processes, systems and most important, each other—and we did. First and foremost, we are here to serve our communities; and our relationships with our communities were at the forefront of all our planning and work. We adapted, accepted, challenged, researched, discussed, deliberated, trialed and learned every step of the way. Central to all of that was our focus on patients first, delivering on our mission. To be clear, it has also been scary in a vacuum of information on a novel virus. This is where courage comes in. And we have it in spades in our organization. We face our fears, and we are better for it. At the end of the day, navigating through the covid experience is a gauntlet that we must (continue to) make our way through, and we are doing just that. Was there anything good about this pandemic? The fact that we have not yet had a single case of influenza this year is one. Yes, that is correct, not a single case. That has never happened. Masking, hand hygiene, physical distancing, remote working, home schooling, and every other action taken to stay safe had consequences beyond not contracting covid. There has been a precipitous drop in many illnesses. Perhaps for folks with chronic conditions, high-risk health issues, or emerging health concerns, some of these practices will continue to benefit their health. However, there are also health concerns that we cannot lose sight of including a concerning drop in childhood vaccinations, increased mental health concerns due to the many pandemic stressors, weight concerns that can impact health status, and other delayed healthcare interventions. These we can work on or solve if appropriate actions are taken. On the organizational side we are also experiencing unique shifts. Workforce flexibility has taken off and includes remote working, hybrid models of work, and more automation. Rather than putting a good or bad spin on any of this, we recognize that new doors have opened. We need to learn new ways of working together that continue to support the valued relationships we have with each other. Care delivery in some areas is also undergoing a transformation, and it is time. We have tried a variety of tools and processes and continue to evolve to best meet our patients’ needs and interests. It is exciting as ingenuity takes root and we all create new pathways to each other. One of my favorite quotes by Bill Gates is, “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.” That was pre-pandemic. The next two and ten years will both see an inordinate amount of change. Finally, the pandemic also demonstrated the critical importance of local hospitals and healthcare, and it is our honor to be here for our communities. What does the rest of the year look like? We are not out of the woods. We are vigilantly watching for any indication of variants. We are curious about the vaccine’s long-term effectiveness. We are avidly watching for research on the aftereffects of covid. And we are actively engaged in continuing our transformation work in population health, where we are completely redesigning healthcare delivery. Flexibility is key, and our partnership work the past six-plus years with payors has ensured that affordable, high-quality care is here for our community at Winona Health. To me, healthcare is not about getting bigger or growing across geographic areas—it is about knowing our communities and what each person who comes through our doors needs, and how they need it. We have weathered the storm, we have survived, and we are building better healthcare to withstand the ongoing winds of change. Time will tell.
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