Becker's Hospital Review

26 POPULATION HEALTH 26 CEO / STRATEGY COVID-19 response and recovery: What 5 hospital CEOs are doing Morgan Haefner H ospital CEOs across the nation are re- sponding and looking to recover from COVID-19 in ways that are unique to their organization's needs and population. Here are examples of how five hospital CEOs are addressing the COVID-19 response and recovery, as of May 21: 1. Warren Kean Spellman, CEO of Grady Me- morial Hospital in Chickasha, Okla., is warn- ing about potential community COVID-19 spread and calling for continued caution amid the pandemic. During a Grady County com- missioners meeting May 18, Mr. Spellman ex- pressed concern about community spread in Chickasha, saying there are people who have an infected loved one who then go to work or go out in public without a mask on. 2. Maureen Tarrant, CEO of Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center and Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, both in Denver, said Americans need to be reminded that these facilities are still safe places to get healthcare when they need it. While Ms. Tarrant said her hospital was "never overwhelmed with COVID patients," there was another effect. "I think we had an unintended consequence: I think we made people afraid to come back to the hospital," she said. 3. Reginald Eadie, MD, CEO of Hartford, Conn.-based Trinity Health of New England, examined how stay-at-home messages have affected hospitalizations for life-threaten- ing illnesses — including heart attack, stroke and gallbladder disease — as well as at-home deaths. "ese increases in at-home deaths are stunning, and in my opinion, clearly show that community members listened to the stay-at- home messages they heard," Dr. Eadie wrote. 4. Brian Gragnolati, CEO of Morristown, N.J.- based Atlantic Health System, told Becker's about how the system is educating employees about self-care and following protocols. "If they do become ill, have processes around that getting them back to work," Mr. Gragnolati said. "is is an all hands on deck exercise." 5. Paul Kempinski, president and CEO of Chil- dren's Mercy Kansas City (Mo.), said due to its lower volume of COVID-19 patients, his orga- nization could act as a regional resource and help mitigate the burden adult hospitals could feel if there is a COVID-19 surge in the Kan- sas City area. In turn, Children's Mercy Kansas City developed a pandemic response plan. n Selfless leadership during a pandemic: 3 actions for CEOs By Morgan Haefner W hen leaders self-sacrifice, like take pay cuts or give up their ben- efits, employees are more committed to their companies and feel better about their leaders during a crisis, according to re- search from Stefanie Johnson, PhD, an associate professor of manage- ment and entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business in Boulder. In an article for the Harvard Business Review, Dr. Johnson discussed how some companies whose leaders stepped up to support their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic will be better positioned after the crisis is over. She cited examples like Patagonia's CEO Yvon Chouinard, who an- nounced the company will pay all employees during the pandemic, even though Patagonia stores had to close. CEOs for Hearst, LinkedIn, Twitter, Morgan Stanley and others have also committed to no layoffs. According to Dr. Johnson, effective strategies to support employees during difficult times fall into three categories. CEOs and leaders should: 1. Take the same hits as their staff. 2. Give with a larger purpose in mind. 3. Be aggressively transparent, even if the message is hard. "Self-sacrifice is not just about the company doing what's right. If you are going to ask your employees to sacrifice, you need to sacrifice as well. If you expect your team to behave safely, you as a leader should behave safely. If you expect your team to get down in the trenches, you should be down there with them. No one likes the leader who throws their team on the front line while they sit in their office," she wrote. n Los Angeles hospital CEO recovers from COVID-19, will donate plasma By Kelly Gooch H ector Hernandez, CEO of Los Angeles Community Hospital, has returned to work after test- ing positive for COVID-19, TV station KABC reported. Mr. Hernandez started feeling ill April 11 and subsequently tested positive, according to the station. He did not re- quire hospitalization because he had a fever but was otherwise asymptomatic. He worked from home for 16 days. Now, he has recovered and is back at the hospital. Mr. Hernandez told KABC the experi- ence has given him a new appreciation for the work done by healthcare workers. He also plans to donate plasma to help others. Convalescent plasma donat- ed by those who have recovered from COVID-19 contains antibodies that could boost sick patients' immune response. n

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