Five years ago, we faced a time of great uncertainty and concern when the World Health Organization designated COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Closer to home, the news of an outbreak of cases at a nursing facility in Kirkland indicated that community transmission had begun, and we recognized the need for a system-wide response by activating UW Medicine’s Incident Command System.
While I know that many of us are still feeling the impact of the pandemic, I remain deeply grateful to the UW Medicine staff, faculty, trainees and students who contributed to our response during the pandemic. Your work highlighted the collaboration, innovation and commitment to the mission that enabled us to save lives and protect our community during this difficult time.
Today, as we face a similar time of uncertainty and concern from the many changes in federal policies, I believe that a look back at our response can remind us of how we navigate challenges together with resilience and success.
National Leadership: As one of the first health systems to treat multiple patients with COVID-19, UW Medicine was recognized by our colleagues across the country and by local and national media as a leader for our pandemic response. Among our accomplishments:
- We launched mobile testing sites, addressed supply chain shortages and increased hospital capacity to prepare for a surge in patients.
- We administered COVID-19 vaccines to hundreds of thousands of people.
- We deployed mobile vans to increase access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines in underserved communities.
- We developed hundreds of new policies to provide patient care under rapidly changing circumstances.
- We shared our clinical expertise with other healthcare systems and reached a national audience through daily media stories with our UW Medicine experts.
Everyday Challenges: These accomplishments are even more remarkable when we recall the many challenges that we faced at the time. In addition to the disruptions in our personal lives, we faced issues as healthcare workers ranging from safely caring for huge numbers of very sick patients to divisive public debates about masking and vaccines.
There were also many moments of heartbreak. Wearing masks and gloves, our nurses were often the ones to hold the hands of patients in their final moments:
“I helped David say, ‘Goodbye,’ to his wife on an iPad. He couldn’t see my face, but I will never forget his. Now, I hold my wife tighter. Give extra kisses. Encouraging words. Compliments. Laughter. Memories. Lifting that iPad taught me to lower my own and love those around me as deeply as possible” (from 55 Word Stories).
Coming Together: During the pandemic, we experienced the benefit of coming together as a community. Our infectious diseases experts kept us informed through regular emails. At our Town Halls, a panel of leaders shared updates and addressed topics such as our own decision-making about whether it was safe to gather with friends, dine in restaurants or travel to visit family. As the toll on healthcare workers increased, we also used this time to explore well-being strategies and resources available to all UW Medicine employees.
After the Town Halls, I would often hear how much you appreciated learning about our personal experiences as healthcare leaders. In this spirit, I would like to share a few reflections from other leaders as they look back on this five-year anniversary:
“It was in about December 2019 when I first asked one of our virology faculty members, Dr. Alex Greninger, about the news from China that there was a novel coronavirus circulating and causing severe disease. I asked Dr. Greninger, ‘Is this the one?’, and he replied, ‘Yes.’ When the pandemic came to Seattle in early 2020, therefore, we were ready to start testing at scale, supporting our sickest hospitalized patients in the early months, and thereafter supporting our population across the region with community testing sites. — Dr. Geoffrey Baird, Professor and Endowed Chair, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
“As part of the Seattle Flu Study, we first identified community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the U.S. At that point, we realized that there was ongoing spread of the virus in the population and that we were past the point of being able to contain the virus. The only thing we could do was to share that information as broadly as possible so we could take steps to slow down the spread.” — Dr. Helen Chu, UW professor of Medicine and Allergy and Infectious Diseases (formerly, Seattle Flu Study Director)
“Through my years in Infection Prevention & Control and Employee Health at Harborview, I’d helped tackle everything from influenza and drug-resistant bacteria to tuberculosis, measles and suspected Ebola. But COVID-19 presented an unprecedented challenge that would test us in ways we couldn’t imagine. Reflecting on that period still stirs complex emotions, but above all, I feel immense gratitude for being part of the UW Medicine community. Together, we accomplished what seemed impossible, protecting our colleagues and patients through unprecedented challenges, some of which continue to this day.” — Dr. John Lynch, Associate Medical Director, Harborview Medical Center
“I remember very clearly sitting at the table with other leaders at UW Medical Center – Northwest and brainstorming about what entrances to keep open, what to close and how to tell patients and families that visitation would be ending. It was terrible. I felt sick to my stomach and wanted to cry as we plastered the campus with signs, asked visitors to leave and broke the news to patients. I knew then that things wouldn’t be the same for a very long time.” — Keri Nasenbeny, Chief Nursing Officer, Harborview Medical Center (formerly, Associate Chief Nursing Officer, UW Medical Center – Northwest)
“I am extremely proud of everything our clinicians and teams achieved during every phase of the response. If I had to choose one standout moment, it would be hosting our first vaccine clinic for providers and first responders. In my role, I don’t always get to feel the direct impact of our work, but leading the vaccine team to ensure we were among the first in the state to deliver vaccines to providers and the first responder community was profoundly gratifying and deeply emotional.” — Cynthia Dold, Chief Operating Officer, UW Medicine
As these reflections remind us, our work gives us purpose and hope during the most difficult of times. Thank you for your continued dedication to UW Medicine, our patients and our community.
With gratitude,
Timothy H. Dellit, MD (He, Him, His)
CEO, UW Medicine
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and
Paul G. Ramsey Endowed Dean of the School of Medicine,
University of Washington
