Massini, Black: ‘An organization of extraordinary people’

Penn State Health CEO Steve Massini and College of Medicine Interim Dean Kevin Black sent the following email to all employees and students across the health system and College on Saturday:

Dear Colleagues,

It’s been a long week that brought a lot of change.

The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center are now caring for a total of 15 patients with COVID-19 and awaiting test results on others. Across our organization, eight individuals within our workforce have tested positive for the virus. Despite our best efforts, Penn State Health had its first COVID-19 death on Friday at Hershey Medical Center. We are preparing for the likelihood that all of these numbers will rise in the coming weeks.

We’re navigating uncharted territory as we do our very best to care for patients while also protecting the health and well-being of our workforce and students. We’ve closed outpatient practices and postponed surgeries. We’re renovating and repurposing areas ― including Hershey’s emergency department ­― to prepare for a surge of patients. We have had to steward our supplies, and we recognize that has created anxiety for many of you. We’ve also had to halt visitation at our hospitals, creating anxiety for our patients and their loved ones.

Next week, all employees reporting to a work location across our health system will be screened at the start of their shift for possible symptoms. All of this is being done to protect the health of our staff, our patients and the communities in which we work and live.

We’ve been heartened by the outpouring of support from our community, including donations of key supplies, such as 1,300 N95 masks. We had our first delivery of face shields that were designed by our College of Medicine’s Center for Medical Innovation and made by a company in Mechanicsburg. Our friends at The Hershey Company and Godiva Chocolatiers sent much-needed hugs in the form of chocolate to employees in Hershey and Reading.

But the most impressive heroics have come from our own people. We’re grateful to the clinicians who are caring for COVID-19 patients, but also to those who continue to care for the rest of our patients amid difficult circumstances. We still have patients fighting cancer, recovering from a heart attacks and delivering newborns. Hershey Medical Center’s lab now has the ability to process COVID-19 tests in-house. Many of you have mastered the art of working from home, and our Information Services employees are working around the clock – literally – to meet our growing technology needs. Supply Chain is working miracles to ensure supplies like gloves, masks and test kits that we will need in the coming weeks, and Environmental Health is on the frontline of the fight to prevent the spread of this virus.

It’s been remarkable to see faculty who never used Zoom in their lives now teaching students remotely, and clinicians using newly created telehealth programs to care for patients in the community. Teams within Human Resources, Patient Relations, Student Affairs, Graduate Education, Marketing and Communications and so many other departments are going above and beyond 24/7 as it has been all-hands-on-deck to address this pandemic.

We are an organization of extraordinary people doing extraordinary work amid extraordinary circumstances. Thank you. We are privileged to work with you. We hope you have a chance to slow down a little this weekend and connect with your loved ones ― in real life or virtually.

Steve Massini                                                    Kevin Black, MD
CEO                                                                     Interim Dean
Penn State Health                                            Penn State College of Medicine

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