March 31, 2020

Click here for the PDF

Hi Team –

Apologies, first – It’s another long one, so please forgive me. There is a lot of important and timely information to share about our latest COVID-19 response plans. Please take the time to read thoroughly…

As predicted, the inevitable surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases across the US is now here, and we’re seeing daily growth in transmission of the virus in our greater Cincinnati community. 

READINESS PLANNING: While we hoped this day would never come, we began preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic nearly three months ago with development of a comprehensive readiness plan, which marked the first phase of our response efforts. 

MOBILIZATION & MITIGATION:  As the spread of COVID-19 expanded to Greater Cincinnati nearly four weeks ago, we began to activate our plans and mobilize for an unprecedented surge in demand for acute and intensive care in our hospitals as follows:

• During the week of March 9, we opened the COVID-19 Command Center at Baldwin and began phased rollout and implementation of our plans.
• During the week of March 16, we introduced mitigation measures to slow the spread of COVID19, conserve critical supplies, and keep our community safe by: 
  • Stopping all elective procedures and surgeries, which was later mandated by an executive order from Governor DeWine.
  • Rapidly changing from in-person/on-site care and work to telehealth and telework across operations, for both clinical and non-clinical functions. 
  • Instituting Fever Check Stations at all operational sites.
  • Creating free-standing COVID-19 assessment and care sites outside our EDs and TPP locations.
  • Ordering millions of additional surgical and N95 masks and other PPE to meet the surge consumption demand expected to be upwards of 10,000 per day
• Last week, we adjusted staffing models to ensure appropriate staffing levels for direct care settings and also began conserving needed resources. We implemented supportive measures for affected team members through enhanced pay and benefits flexibility and establishment of a $4 million Emergency Relief Fund for team members, among other measures. 
• Today, we delivered our 8-week surge/capacity expansion plan, developed in collaboration with other area health systems and Governor DeWine’s office, in preparation for the influx of COVID19 cases in the region.

SURGE READINESS: While it was uncertain 2 – 3 weeks ago the impact the unprecedented mitigation efforts (closure of schools, restaurants, etc.) would have on the intensity and duration of COVID-19 transmission, it’s clear now that those measures, while helpful, have not prevented the rapid influx of local COVID-19 cases. Based on best and latest COVID-19 transmission and demand models developed collaboratively with the State, it’s anticipated the surge will occur in our area between mid- to late-April, and will result in as many as two times the number of current inpatients and up to three times the number of critical care patients, including those needing ventilators. In the coming days and weeks, we will face this surge as prepared and ready as any health system because of the planning that has occurred for all scenarios to adequately care for patients, while also keeping front-line team members and physicians safe. However, this work will not be easy – and will require every one of us to respond with flexibility and a willingness to do things much differently, for at least the next two months. Here are just a few of the major actions we’ll take as part of our surge/capacity expansion plan:

• Transitioning private inpatient rooms to semi-private to double capacity at all TriHealth acute care hospitals.
• Activating all beds not currently in use across the system for ICU and medical/surgical needs.
• Transferring PACU and OR beds to ICU in our two flagship hospitals – Good Sam and Bethesda North.
• Temporarily reassigning nursing and other clinical and support staff from outpatient to ICU and medical/surgical roles using team-based care models. TriHealth Chief Nursing Executive, Jenny Skinner, and our hospital CNOs, along with Nursing Directors and Nursing Educators, are working to ready non-acute care nurses to redeploy, as needed, to ICU and medical/surgical roles. To do so, they will adopt a team approach to care and staffing models that will allow nurses with little or no ICU/medical/surgical experience to provide care under the guidance of our most experienced nurses. 
• Redeploying experienced community-based primary care, pulmonary and anesthesia physicians to acute care settings in similar team-based hospitalist and critical care roles.
• Modifying TriHealth PPE Supply Chain Strategy. As Dr. Joseph, Dr. Blatt, and I shared in a memo to all team members over the weekend, to ensure that all our caregivers and front-line staff are properly protected – and that we have the vital equipment we need to provide critical respiratory care for patients throughout the surge – TriHealth is has ordered more than one million surgical and N95 masks, which we expect to receive shortly. Additionally, we are conserving both surgical masks and N95 respirators by following the CDC guidelines to ensure every team member, physician and patient is safe and properly protected. 

We’ll share more details as our plans are finalized in the coming days, and your leaders will communicate with you directly about how these plans may impact your area and/or your current roles.

ONGOING COMMUNICATIONS: We will continue to keep you up to date and fully informed on our COVID-19 plans, actions and progress every step of the way. Please continue to check our COVID Hub on Bridge regularly for the latest changes to guidelines and policies. Below is a reminder of this week’s schedule of COVID-19 communications:

• Monday, March 30 – Friday, April 4 – Daily Dr. Joseph daily video updates are emailed and archived on Bridge
• Tuesday, March 31 @ 12pm – Team Member Town Hall was livestreamed and is now archived on Facebook and Bridge
• Tuesday, March 31 – CEO Weekly Update
• Wednesday, April 1 @ 6:15pm – Physician Town Hall livestreamed on Facebook and Bridge
• Friday, April 3 – Weekly COVID Update email  

THANK YOU for your continued tremendous and, yes, courageous and compassionate work to help us prepare for and minimize the spread of COVID-19, while mitigating its impact on our system, our team and our community. Now, our most sacred work begins as we fulfill our mission to safeguard the health of potentially thousands of people in our community who need our care more than ever. The coming weeks and months will challenge us all, and we’ll be ready – ONE TEAM, ONE MISSION, ONE GREAT HEALTH SYSTEM – standing STRONG and READY to face whatever comes next! 

thank you for the update, what about experiencing severe anxiety related to this pandemic?
Posted by: Mary Eifert on April 03, 2020
Reply/View Reply

Mark, I work with an amazing leadership team. I am grateful for you and senior leadership as well. I also want to say a HUGE shoot out to Jamie Easterling and Marla Silliman too. They both have stood in the posture of confidence, compassion and caring for all. They took a huge leap to ensure all patients, visitors, and team members were safe and locked GSH down without any hesitation. It was orchestrated very well. Grateful.
Posted by: Joi Carter on April 03, 2020
Reply/View Reply

"Thank you", to all of our GREAT nurses and doctors, for being our front line and caring for all of our patients at TriHealth! Also, Thank you to all of the staff that provides us to have a clean and safe environment at TriHealth! I appreciate every one of you!
Posted by: Susan Weber2 on April 02, 2020
Reply/View Reply

Very good updates!
Posted by: Cindy Auger on April 02, 2020
Reply/View Reply

Thank you for the daily and weekly updates
Posted by: Barb Gillman-Lamping on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

None of us anticipated something like this would happen to us. But unfortunately this is a present force in all of our lives, and TriHealth and it's leadership team and ALL of us team members have made considerable efforts at keeping us safe! Thank you to every person for the work you do each and everyday, and also our families that supports us!
Posted by: Marie Stoehr on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

I truly appreciate everything TriHealth is doing to protect our staff and our community.
Posted by: Brooke Keller on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIRELESS WORK AND TAKING CARE OF ALL OF US
Posted by: Dawn Rupp on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

United we stand. Together, we will NOT fall. Keep up the great work everyone. We are all making a difference.
Posted by: Alicia Miller on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

Proud to be a TriHealth Team Member
Posted by: Deborah Miller2 on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

Thank you to the Great Leaders of TriHealth. Your sacrifices & care for all of us means a lot. My thanks & prayers also for all of our Front Line TriHealth Teams who have made a huge sacrifice for everyone across the TriState. Your all are truly my HEROS!!! We have always appreciated you very much but even more so now. I feel honored & blessed to work for TriHealth.
Posted by: Deborah Miller2 on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

Thank you for providing us with the best up-to-the-minute updates and information. This enables us the ability and knowledge to pass on to our patients as they call, and to reassure those who are anxious due to the bombardment and sensationalism of the local media. I am proud to work for this system that is so progressive in the care and treatment of the community.
Posted by: Kathleen Ostermann on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

Thank you all front line staff, you are making this world a better place! We appreciate all the sacrifice you do everyday.
Posted by: Jennifer Wesley on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

Praying for our TriHealth Team.
Posted by: Connie Dieffenderfer on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply

Gratitude to our Senior Leaders for Communication and Calm in the midst of the Crisis.
Posted by: MichaelJeff Hill on April 01, 2020
Reply/View Reply