McKenna: Holy Spirit transition continues in face of ongoing pandemic
Don McKenna, regional president of Holy Spirit and Hampden medical centers, sent the following email to Holy Spirit employees on Jan. 14.
As we continue Holy Spirit’s integration into Penn State Health, I believe it is important to acknowledge what many of you are feeling – that the process isn’t easy, and the pandemic has magnified its many challenges. Unlike the transition we expected, we find ourselves building relationships, learning new processes and solving challenges not in person but through Zoom and other socially distant interactions.
At the same time, the daily precautions necessary to keep us safe have proven challenging to sustain as we approach the one-year mark in our fight against COVID-19. For all of these things, I thank you for your continued patience and point to the ongoing rollout of the vaccine as promise that relief is on the horizon.
All Penn State Health employees are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. I encourage you to promptly schedule your vaccine appointment when you receive the email from covid19vaccine@pennstatehealth.psu.edu. Both Kyle Snyder and I have been vaccinated. We know vaccination is something we can all do to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. If you are unsure about being vaccinated, I urge you to learn more by visiting our resources page.
Despite the challenges put in front of us this past year, we continue to put our patients first. I want to join you in celebrating our recent “A” rating for patient safety on The Leapfrog Group’s semiannual safety ranking report card. This is a testament to your efforts to protect patients from harm and provide safe health care. That same commitment to high-quality care also led to The Joint Commission recertifying Holy Spirit Medical Center as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center and Capital BlueCross designating the hospital as a Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery.
Separate from sharing news with you in my monthly message, news specific to Holy Spirit and the broader health system is published in two daily e-newsletters: Daily Brief and Manager Update. Penn State Health would like to know if you are reading these publications and what other ways you prefer to get your news. Please take a few minutes to complete this brief survey and let us know what works and what doesn’t so we can ensure you are getting the news you need to do your job.
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