Teamwork, compassion, community: This is St. Tammany Health System's COVID-19 story

In March, St. Tammany Health System distributed 'Strong Together' T-shirts to all of the organization's employees as a twin sign of strength and solidarity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Team members have been invited to wear them to work every Friday since. (Photo by Mike Scott / STHS)

By Joan Coffman FACHE, STHS President & CEO

When I returned home in 2018 to join the team at St. Tammany Health System, the thought of facing a global pandemic only two years later never even crossed my mind.

Shortly after my arrival, STHS held an emergency management drill preparing our colleagues for an outbreak of infectious disease. I was impressed with the diligence of our teams participating in the exercise and sharing the lessons learned and opportunities for improvement.

I was grateful for these professionals who committed themselves directly into disaster response without hesitation, without fear, and with a great deal of expertise and compassion.

Ringing in 2020, we began to hear about a new coronavirus spreading in other parts of the world with the first confirmed U.S. case in Washington state. After Mardi Gras, we followed procedures to heighten awareness of the newly named COVID-19. We conducted a blind drill at one of our primary care clinics. The team passed with flying colors, and thus began our escalation of modified operations to address the likelihood of future outbreaks.

We erected tents to triage patients outside our emergency departments. Our plant operations crews converted rooms to increase our negative pressure, isolation and critical care capacity. Our clinical teams began to plan for the long haul, adjusting staffing to make smartest use of all our resources.

Our first positive patient was confirmed by the state on March 13 and what rolled from there was nothing short of heroic. From brave environmental services professionals armed with new technology and the tried-and-true chemicals we know and trust, to the pulmonologists, respiratory therapists, nurses, techs and assistants on the COVID units, everyone stepped forward and gave of themselves.

I am so grateful to everyone here and beyond: churches, businesses, restaurants, elected officials, physicians, dentists, charities, neighbors, families and friends. You shared PPE, food, sewing skills, care and concern. Your generosity touched our hearts.

In the summer issue of our Heart to Heart magazine -- which you can find online now at STPH.org/HeartToHeart as well as inserted in local newspapers in coming weeks -- you will see stories that embody our mission to be the heartbeat of our community, caring for patients and families with excellence, compassion and teamwork; stories of our post-COVID vision to strengthen the health of our community with compassion, innovation and partnership; and stories that clearly demonstrate our values: Teamwork, Trust, Compassion, Quality and Innovation.

Gratefully,