COVID-19…TWO years later

Tomorrow (Saturday, March 5) marks the two-year anniversary of Governor Hogan announcing our state’s first cases of COVID-19 and declaring a State of Emergency. So, it is very exciting to have the test positivity rate in Maryland drop below 2% and to have fewer than 350 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maryland. Our team needs a break!

The pandemic has dramatically affected everyday life and has slowed down our progress toward our vision. Our focus has been on combatting the coronavirus. My hope is that we do not see a new variant emerge for which we are not protected by having contracted the disease or by vaccination. Then, COVID-19 will become like other respiratory pathogens that exist in the environment and can create epidemics in the unvaccinated but will no longer be the scourge that it has been. We need to be totally focused on building our community-based system of care that can be held accountable for the health of those we are serving and treat everyone the way we want our own loved ones served.

One of the most striking takeaways from the pandemic was the resolve and collaboration demonstrated by our clinicians, all of whom were put into a situation where they had to learn about COVID as they were trying to treat it. It was truly encouraging to see our team using our core competency of redesigning care every day. This is something I will always remember.

Thank You to Our Social Workers!
March is National Social Work Month, and I would like to thank the devoted group of social workers who serve GBMC. We know how important social workers are and the difference they make in the lives of individuals and families.  Please join me in thanking our social workers for all that they do.