(Video) Urgent Health Care Front Lines in COVID Times
Fahrenheit Managing Director, Jay Carpenter met with Virginia Urology CEO, Brigette Booth, to hear from a leader in the healthcare space about COVID-19 impacts. In this video, you will hear how the efforts of her leadership team helped to keep her employees and urgent care patients safe during the onset of a global pandemic. When the practice started hearing rumblings about the Coronavirus and COVID, Booth explained that the practice, “went ahead and put in some measures to update our infection preparedness plan that we already had in place in response to other viruses that had come up over the past few years such as Ebola. We went ahead and tweaked those policies and procedures and ensured that all of our offices had the appropriate personal protective equipment. We quarantined certain spaces so, should anybody come in with the coronavirus or coronavirus-like symptoms, we could isolate them. So we found initially, we had a pretty good handle on things and I felt confident in the direction that the team was taking.” Responses were required from the team to address rapid-fire updates from multiple health regulatory agencies, patient safety considerations and employee safety concerns.
RESPONSES TO RAPID-FIRE guideline UPDATES
The amount of and constantly changing information coming out from the CDC (Center for Disease Control & Prevention), WHO (World Health Organization) and The Virginia Department of Health was great. Quick efforts were made to, “ensure we were providing a safe environment not only for our employees but our patients. That was critically important and we wanted to ensure we were providing the most accurate information which was very hard when we would start the day with one plan but by the end of the day the information had already changed from those respective regulatory agencies and we were having to quickly pivot and update our plan,” Booth said.
ADDRESSING PATIENT & EMPLOYEE HEALTH CONCERNS
Regarding communication, Booth described the importance of being up front and honest with their employees. The leadership team directly addressed patient and employees’ fears about the risk of exposure. Admitting that the team did not know exactly what was going on, and while they didn’t have a plan for handling the effects of this virus, they did have a great organization. Booth credited her leadership team for being able to modify the plan on the fly. The installation of telemedicine, a “Uro to Go” program, the consolidation of multiple offices to conserve PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and providing one-on-one patient services in their parking lot are examples of creative ways to treat patients safely.
REFLECTIONS: A COVID-19 LEADERSHIP PIVOT
When asked what were some positive things that have come from this time for her personally, professionally or the firm, Booth answered that if there was a “silver lining, anything out of this current pandemic, is the ability to really break down some of the silos that we had in the organization across departments.” She added, “they got a better appreciation of what not only their colleagues were having to do, but we were asking so many other employees to take on roles and responsibilities that really were not in their scope. It allowed them to see the bigger picture of what the organization is trying to achieve: ensuring that we are always providing the highest quality care to our patients.”
We will be talking with other business leaders across various industries who, in various ways , are each leading in challenging times. Other videos are available on our website fahrenheitadvisors.com. We provide leadership coaching services, strategic planning for leadership teams and other business support services. Reach out to Fahrenheit Advisors and talk to an expert about what business challenges you may be facing or tell us your story of leadership in challenging times- Experts@FahrenheitAdvisors.com.