It’s been the best, the worst, the most challenging and the most exciting six months of my career.

I can barely remember what life was like before March 2020. During the weeks prior, we were hearing about a virus that found its way to America. Perham Health leadership was discussing all the “what ifs.” On March 12, it was becoming clear we were going to have to take very swift action to protect our staff and patients and prepare to care for our community in this pandemic world.

Late that evening, my daughter went into labor with my first grandchild. She had asked me to be with her throughout labor. The following day, I had to frequently leave her room to make decisions about implementing COVID screening at our entrances, masking requirements for staff, and limiting visitors, which made me wonder if I’d be able to be witness the birth. At 4:20 p.m., Carson Howard Hofius entered the world.

The following Monday, Perham Health closed all elective surgeries, expanded visitor restrictions, canceled many other elective procedures, with frightened patients canceling appointments in high numbers.

Navigating a New Normal

Since, there have been new guidelines daily (yes, daily!), regulatory changes, and incredible amounts of new information to understand. Our providers and staff have had to continually change their practices as we learn more and more about the virus, and as the number of positive COVID test numbers goes up. Our patients have had to adapt to new ways of care delivery, changes in information and recommendations, overcoming fears, and digging for facts.

Patients were initially told to stay away because hospitals would be overrun with COVID cases – fortunately, we did not see that here. But, as a result, we sat nearly empty for over a month. People needed to be cared for so we developed new and safe ways to deliver our services. Thanks to diligent, creative, and committed providers, caregivers, and other staff, these new approaches have allowed those who come here for care to feel confident they are safe.

Looking to the Future

What lies ahead? More research than we have ever seen for a new virus is taking place. We are very hopeful there will be a vaccine soon – how soon is a big question and how quickly it can be distributed across the entire world is an even bigger question. But, we are confident there will be a vaccine and we will eventually get the virus under control.

Meanwhile, there are numerous improvements that have occurred as a result of the pandemic. We need to harness the best of what has been developed with the best of what was, and develop a new roadmap for the future.

Technology

  • Technologies that the industry has tried to implement for years were suddenly embraced almost overnight. For example, we spent years discussing the issues with video visits; today they are commonplace. Patients appreciate not having to leave work or pack up the kids. Providers are impressed with the ease of the technology.
  • New technologies purchased over recent years to gain efficiencies but not fully utilized in a way that achieved the promise, were suddenly forced into use with savings helping to get us through a really critical.

Education and Research

  • We found ways to provide education, hold meetings, and engage with patients and families virtually that have achieved significant time savings and travel costs.
  • We’ve been able to conduct research, study the learnings, and roll out improvements quicker than ever before. You may wonder why the ICU hospitalization rate and the death rate have actually dropped while the number of positive cases continue to rise. It’s because we’ve quickly learned better treatments for the virus and have shared these improvements across the country. What historically took years to implement, the medical community has been able to do in weeks.

Community

  • Competing healthcare providers have had more dialogue than ever, are freely sharing information, and working well together. Public Health and healthcare providers are working closer than ever before. We’ve also engaged with more businesses and community groups.

I’m highly encouraged that we will be able to keep the best of what has changed, bring back the best of what once was, and discard the things that haven’t ever really worked well. The struggle is not over, but we are on the right path. The long-term future looks very bright. I’m excited to be a leader in an industry that gets to discover what’s on the horizon.

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Chuck Hofius
Perham Health CEO