Page 20 - 2022 Chester County Guide & CCCBI Membership Directory

PANDEMIC
YCOHUESTHTELREACODEURNSTHYIPCHAMBER
CHESTER COUNTY HOSPITAL
Like all healthcare organizations during the pandemic, the
Chester County Hospital “had to adjust to COVID by remaining nimble and fluid in how we cared for our patients and protected our employees,” said Dr. Karen Pinsky, Chief Medical Officer. “For example, recommendations about what PPE to use— for both our patients and our employees — evolved continually, and we had to regularly modify our guidance on visiting hours or whether people could visit at all.”
Another challenge was the frequent introduction of new therapies to treat COVID. “To keep serving our patients, Chester County Hospital had to be an agile learning organization and continually incorporate the newest evidence on treatments to ensure we delivered the safest and most effective care,” Pinsky said. “During the most recent wave, Chester County Hospital experienced challenges similar to other businesses. Because the prevalence of COVID in
our community was exceptionally high, many of our staff became infected outside the hospital during their day-to-day lives, requiring that they quarantine at home and miss work. Operationally, we were challenged to provide adequate around-the-clock clinical
staff at the hospital and deliver the highest standard of care. That became sort of a daily challenge during the last big COVID wave.”
Chester County Hospital also supported the community by providing vaccines once they became available and administering monoclonal antibodies to those at risk of severe COVID.
“I think that we work in a more inter-disciplinary, multi-dimensional
way than we did before the pandemic,” Pinsky said. “We learned
to go beyond our own comfort zone and relinquish some of our standard roles to remain responsive to the ever-changing needs. We had nursing staff who flexed to help with the duties of our nutrition staff, and we had anesthesiologists ready to deploy to the intensive care unit. We learned that our staff can stretch and grow beyond what we typically expected of them. Looking forward, we know we’re able tackle hurdles that seem insurmountable, because now we’ve done it.”
As a healthcare institution during difficult times, “we felt incredibly supported,” Pinsky said. “And I would like to say thank to our community for the tremendous outpouring of support for the hospital and our staff, from both businesses and private residents. It made us feel valued and appreciated.”
18 Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry