IU Health South Central Region Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dan Handel. (Courtesy of IU Health)
WFIU’s Bob Zaltsberg talked with IU Health South Central Region Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dan Handel over Zoom recently about a year of battling COVID-19.
Here is part of that conversation, slightly edited for clarity.
Bob Zaltsberg: How do you think battling the pandemic has tested your staff?
Dr. Dan Handel: You know, I think it's been hard. I round in our hospital on a regular basis. And I think the hardest part of this was probably two months ago we're at a true peak, and it's not clear that it's getting better. It's hard for our team members to take care of patients when we couldn't allow their families in, because families are a really key part of delivering health care, and we had to further protect families.We had to create those restrictions from a patient visitation standpoint.
I think that was really hard, not only on patients, but our team members, because that's one of the very important parts of that relationship of not only interacting with patients, but with their families in terms of how do we help support them as they get better?
"I think that the deaths have been hard on people; it's something we've never seen before."
I think that the deaths have been hard on people; it's something we've never seen before. And I think now, I rounded in the hospital last week, and people are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. So, I think spirits are definitely up. And it's encouraging as the numbers are staying lower, that we're kind of getting back to, you know, all the other things we do in a hospital setting on top of this pandemic.
There's been a lot of mental health crises going on out there that you know, we've talked about a little bit but not as much as we probably should be. Social isolation has its costs on people with mental health history. Adolescent teens with acute psychiatric episodes has skyrocketed. And we've seen that in our adult populations as well. So, I mean, I think it's really hard; people need that social connection. So, the quicker we can get to herd immunity and help people get back to that I think the healthier our communities will be.
BZ: How has this strengthened your staff?
DH: I think there's been a definite sense of camaraderie. I think also, our team members in the region and Bloomington Hospital, definitely have seen the benefits of being part of a larger system, where we've been able to flex resources, you know, across the state. So, most recently, all of us have been fairly busy.
But earlier on, there were different spikes in different regions. So, we would send ventilators from one location to another, we would send nurses, we would send other support staff from one location to the other, and vice versa, and really moved our team members where the needs were in the moment.
So, people felt supported, not just within Bloomington Hospital, but from other members all across IU Health. So, I think people realized that benefit, whereas I think it's been a lot harder for smaller hospitals throughout the state.
We didn't lay anyone off, we didn't cut pay for anyone, and it’s a lot easier to do that when you're a larger system versus a much smaller hospital. So, I think people really realize how we were able to rally and really help support each other as a larger system. And I think that's a good thing. And I think it's important that we remember that moving forward.
BZ: What have you, as chief medical officer, learned?
DH: I think the biggest thing is be being comfortable with a fluid situation. You know, in my medical career, I don't remember a time where the evidence-based guidelines have changed so quickly. And trying to not only educate the public about, okay, this is the latest data we have, we're getting data as quick as we can, this is likely to change, but also our physicians, and the nursing homes we worked with, and the other members of healthcare.
[We said] okay, we're constantly looking over the data, we're following what the CDC is recommending, what we did a month ago doesn't apply now, based on it being more up to date. I mean, most of the diseases that we've dealt with in our careers have been much more established.
I'm also extremely encouraged that we've been able to apply science and technology to a virus and to fight a virus that we've never really done before. I mean, if you think about it, most of the viruses that exists out there, we have very limited therapies for. It's not like antibiotics with bacteria.
So, in healthcare in general, we have had limited interventions, to address viruses, but the fact that we as a society have been able to create a vaccine from nothing in less than a year that is so effective is highly encouraging. I'm excited to see how that applies to other viruses that we've dealt with forever, you know, and other better ways we can deal with other viruses moving forward.
"...the fact that we as a society have been able to create a vaccine from nothing in less than a year that is so effective is highly encouraging."
And I think the other thing, from a [chief medical officer's] perspective is being honest with people, and being transparent and saying, you know, this is what we know. Now, this is what we don't know, this is what we're going to do to try to learn more.
And one of the things we set up with all of our medical staff across our region were weekly calls. Sometimes we had certain things we wanted to talk about, but it was an open forum so that people could ask directly, okay, what are we doing now, based on this and constantly updating that and continuing to have that open forum. And the nice thing about technology, like Zoom, or Teams, or all these other platforms is we could quickly all get on a call and have a real-time conversation. When we really didn't use this kind of forum we used to meet in person, which logistically is always a lot harder for people especially if they're not practicing in Bloomington.
Continuing to use this technology as a way to have regular touch points with large groups of people I think, is something that's here to stay and I think it's a very good thing.
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