Hi Team –

 

The past several days of warmer weather have been a welcome relief from the snow and ice of just a few weeks ago. And the longer, sunnier days have us all looking forward to Spring and the brighter days ahead! Speaking of brighter days, optimism continues to grow each day that we are one step closer to ending this recent COVID surge and putting this pandemic behind us once and for all (read more below). And thanks to the adaptive, patient-centered TriHealth Way culture we’ve built over the past six-plus years, we have successfully faced and overcome adversity and seemingly unending challenges – together as One Team, TriHealth Strong.

 

Another week of declining new COVID infections and hospitalizations lends further optimism to the end of this Omicron-fueled fourth wave and a likely return to a new post-pandemic normal. Over the past seven days, TriHealth’s COVID inpatient census has fallen by nearly 50% – now around 75 patients. This is our lowest COVID inpatient volume since last November. And this decline in COVID hospitalizations at TriHealth is what we are seeing in other hospitals and health systems throughout our entire region. Another encouraging development, new COVID cases per 100,000 people have fallen from more than 700 per week just a month ago to 110 today. And CDC guidance allows for mask-wearing to be rolled back once we drop below 50 new cases per 100,000 people per week.

 

All of these indicators – coupled with growing vaccine-induced and natural immunity, increased availability of breakthrough therapeutics to better treat high-risk patients, and the return of warmer weather leading to more outdoor gatherings and activities – provide us hope that the end of this pandemic surge is just around the corner. Let’s use this positive momentum to continue serving our patients through the end of this surge and beyond!

 

With the Cincinnati Bengals’ season now behind us, I want to share with you once again a difficult decision we made and spoke with our team members about some time ago. As you know, in mid-2020 we were faced with the difficult but necessary work of proactively managing through the secondary financial crisis brought on by COVID-19 and a two-month shut down of elective services. One such cost savings initiative in our COVID Financial Recovery Plan was the reduction of community sponsorships that were not core to our healthcare mission. At the end of this month, our current seven-year sponsorship agreement with the Cincinnati Bengals expires. So, after months of careful consideration and conversations with the Bengals organization, we have decided not to renew this sponsorship, but instead to redirect those sponsorship dollars into our people and our work of Getting Healthcare Right. Since the start of this pandemic, TriHealth has invested tens of millions of dollars over and above existing salaries and benefits to help support the financial, physical and emotional well-being of our team members and physicians. These investments have taken the form of Heroes and Serve Bonuses, a gift of PTO hours, cool TriHealth gear like jackets and t-shirts, complimentary meals, and much more.

 

Our investments in YOU – our team members and physicians – remain our highest priority, as you are central to our ability to consistently deliver the highest quality and safest care to our patients anywhere. So, we have big plans in the months and years ahead to continue these investments in you, as we advance the important work of Getting Healthcare Right by delivering on the Triple Aim of better care, better health and better value! To accomplish this, sometimes hard choices have to be made, including this decision to end this more than $2 million annual sponsorship of the Bengals. We thank the Bengals organization for this seven-year relationship which has helped to strengthen the TriHealth brand and community awareness. We will always be fans of the Bengals and will be rooting them on in coming seasons hoping to see them in Super Bowls for years to come.

 

Speaking of cool TriHealth gear and investing in our team members and physicians, we are hard at work putting together fun and exciting plans to celebrate the very best team in healthcare this May during Hospital and Nurses Weeks – or what we call TriHealth Healthcare Heroes Week. And one favorite activity being brought back by popular demand is our Healthcare Heroes Week T-Shirt Design Contest. So, we encourage you to tap into your creative side and submit your idea for a TriHealth t-shirt between today and Friday, March 4. The winning design – as voted on and chosen by your fellow team members – will be incorporated into the 2022 Healthcare Heroes Week t-shirt proudly worn by all of our team members and physicians. Not only that, but the team member who submits the winning design will win a $500 gift card. Two runners-up will each receive a $100 gift card, and everyone who sends in their design will be entered into a random drawing for one of five $50 gift cards. Visit Bridge for full details. 

 

Central to our ability to foster the best work and practice environments for our team members and physicians is hearing your feedback and putting it into action to bring about positive change. So, mark your calendars for Monday, March 14, for your opportunity to tell us how we are doing and what we can do better by participating in the 2022 TriHealth Engagement Pulse Survey. This brief survey will take less than five minutes to complete but will provide important insights into areas that are important to you, including wellness, teamwork, inclusion and leadership communication. The Pulse Survey will be open from March 14-25. Stay tuned for more information next month!

 

Please join me in congratulating the 15 TriHealth team members who have been selected to participate in the launch of B.O.L.D. (Building Our Leadership Diversity). The B.O.L.D. program is yet another investment in our team members and reflects TriHealth’s commitment to recruiting, retaining and developing diverse talent and preparing the next generation of leaders. This leadership development program is focused primarily on underrepresented team members to help prepare them for the next stage in their careers and to build a “talent pipeline” for greater diversity in leadership. It is designed to present real-life challenges and opportunities that can help participants achieve their career goals in leadership through on-the-job experiences and classroom instruction. Click here to see the full list of B.O.L.D. program participants. 

 

Thank you once again for your many sacrifices and for always stepping up when in need the past two years, which has enabled TriHealth to serve and care for our patients throughout this once-in-a-century global pandemic. Better days are on the horizon. And as we gradually emerge from this two-year crisis, we will take the time to fully recover and renew from the personal and emotional toll of COVID so that we can continue our sacred work of Getting Healthcare Right for all those we serve.