Healthcare Hygiene magazine April 2020 | Page 6

from the editor h ealthcarehygienemagazine The Aftermath of the COVID-19 Outbreak W Kelly M. Pyrek editor & publisher [email protected] hen we get to the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic – and we will – it will be a time of reflection, contemplation, and reckoning. The world will come to terms with the reality of the outbreak and its aftermath and must decide if it can handle the truth or continue in its state of make-believe that perpetuates disarray and unpreparedness. We got lucky in the more recent outbreaks such as H1N1 and SARS, in that the U.S. did not see the case counts that our nation is experiencing currently. We dodged the Ebola bullet, too, and it afforded us a chance to review our collective state of readiness for the next emergency. Clearly, we failed. Not because our Administration failed us. Although plenty of people decided that weaponizing the coronavirus for political gain was more important than the response itself. Not because our healthcare systems failed us. Although lack of preparedness has been a perennial issue in an era of cost-cutting. Not because industry failed us. Although single-country sourcing has crippled the supply chain and left us unnecessarily vulnerable. We failed because we never thought it could happen to us, and it did. And then we panicked, reacted out of a place of fear, and reason and common sense was the coronavirus’s biggest casualties, even as human life was lost, and the country plunged into economic disaster. It didn’t have to happen, but as we look toward eventually rebuilding, it’s more important to learn from this painful lesson once and for all and get our priorities straight. Allow me to make some suggestions: Ÿ Ditch the just-in-time inventory strategy if you, as a hospital, are depending on companies that single-source their products. In a pinch, the supply chain will choke, and healthcare workers and patients will pay the price. Ÿ Stop pretending that you, as a hospital, are prepared for an outbreak. If you can’t handle a domestic pathogen successfully, you’ll never be able to handle a foreign one. And don’t forget that the domestic pathogens are as important as the exotics and are deserving of continued control and elimination efforts in the midst of a pandemic. Ÿ Start acting as if you, as a hospital, have created a contingency plan, educated and trained healthcare professionals about it, and have revised your budgets to allow for the staff, resources, medical supplies, equipment and wherewithal to tackle a pandemic properly. Ÿ Stop pretending you wash your hands when you don’t. The silver lining of all this lunacy is a renewed focus on hygiene. It will serve us well in the future, if we don’t abandon it the minute the danger passes. Ÿ Quit surrendering accountability and stop pointing fingers; all that does is produce a victim mentality. We are better than that, and patients deserve nothing less. As consumers, practitioners and business owners, we all have the shared respon- sibility of learning from the past, being proactive and responsible in the present, and preparing for the future. We recognize and thank all healthcare workers and first responders for their heroics on the frontline of the COVID-10 battle. We appreciate the efforts of industry to retrofit their factories and supply the critical goods that the healthcare sector needs. Until next month, bust those bugs! A.G. Hettinger, CPA president & CFO Patti Valdez art director Mary Johnson sales and marketing specialist [email protected] Linda Lybert business development consultant J. Christine Phillips customer service manager Send inquiries to: [email protected] Healthcare Hygiene magazine is published monthly by Keystone Media Inc. 8925 Ridgeline Boulevard, suite 106, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129. Free digital subscriptions available at www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com for U.S., Canada and other foreign subscribers. Copyright © 2019 Keystone Media Inc. All rights reserved. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising or editorial material. Advertisers, and/or their agents, assume the responsibility for all content of published advertisements and assume responsibility for any claims against the publisher based on the advertisement. Editorial contributors assume responsibility for their published works and assume responsibility for any claims against the publisher based on the published work. All items submitted to Healthcare Hygiene magazine become the sole property of Keystone Media Inc. Editorial content may not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. Kelly M. Pyrek Editor & Publisher [email protected] 6 april 2020 • www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com