by
Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | April 15, 2022
From the April 2022 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
HCB News: What has the experience and response to COVID-19 been like for Unity Health Care?
JHB: We truly have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic since day one, and like many healthcare providers, our team has been tirelessly dedicated to being there for our patients. As early as March 2020, we began offering testing and care for people with suspected COVID-19 at five health centers 13 hours a day, 7 days a week to make sure our patients had access to care. By December 2020 we stood up vaccine clinics at two of our health centers (now expanded to all centers) and our team held mass vaccination events at the D.C. Convention Center, low-barrier shelters throughout the city, The Anthem, Parkside Health Center, and school-based health centers. To date, we have tested more than 70,000 people and provided over 42,000 lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine doses.
We also partnered with the Department of Health to mobilize and staff ISAQ (isolation and quarantine) hotels and PEP-V (Pandemic Emergency Program for Vulnerable individuals) hotels to deliver primary, acute and respite care services in addition to COVID-19 services to people experiencing homelessness since May, 2020. Our teams at the Department of Corrections have managed outbreaks in the facility and administered tests and vaccines to residents.
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For our team, it was important that we answered every question our patients had regarding the vaccine to ensure they felt safe and comfortable. We offered town halls, web series, and engaged with the media to answer questions and listen to concerns. We are proud to have been selected as one of only 200 health centers in the country to receive HRSA supply of antiviral therapeutics that are effective in keeping high-risk patients with COVID from developing severe illness.
We remain committed to doing everything we can to battle COVID-19 while at the same time providing the preventive care and specialty care our patients also need to stay healthy.
HCB News: Do you see the pandemic altering care delivery in any fundamental, long-term ways?
JHB: Telehealth has become an incredible tool we have utilized to stay engaged with our patients even when in-person visits were not possible due to COVID-19. While our team saw the benefits immediately, telehealth really was something quite new and different for many of our patients. We plan to continue to utilize the technology moving forward, so are planning to continue to educate our patients while sharing the benefits with our community on how it can be helpful to their overall health.
HCB News: What is one of the most important lessons you've learned in your career?
JHB: There have been so many lessons throughout the years, but I think the one that has been resonating with me the most lately is the importance and impact of listening. We have the honor of learning about our patients’ journeys and hearing a patient’s grief about losing family members to COVID and how that translated to worsening diabetes; and being trusted with that information has helped me to be a better provider and a better systems leader. Likewise, witnessing and experiencing the journeys of our colleagues and our communities has been healing and awakening over the last two years whether it is the mental health impact on healthcare workers or the trauma of systemic racism in our community. Listening provides awareness, understanding and an opportunity for change and impact that is meaningful.
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