COVID -19 Chronicle - Update December 2020

“We learned a tremendous amount during the COVID-19 crisis,” explains Tricia Mercer, director, Medical Group Practice Management, Northern Light Health. “Building off of our success of a central phone line to access Northern Light Health COVID-19 services, we are using what we have learned to redefine how we schedule patients for other appointments with the convenience of one number.”

Tricia Mercer Director, Medical Group Practice Management

Since March, teams across Northern Light Health have shown that by rolling up our sleeves, working together, and putting our Yankee ingenuity to good use, we not only build safe processes that effectively help keep our communities healthy, but also contribute to improving future care delivery. Mercer also shares that Northern Light Health’s COVID-19 Care program, supported by Northern Light Beacon Health, has proactively leveraged the population health approach to care for high risk patients during the pandemic. “We may be one of the few health systems in the country who have

leveraged the same technology we use for telehealth to bring real time education to our clinical staff and providers, developing new simulations designed around keeping our staff, patients, and communities safe.” Collaboration has always been critical to the work we do across the state, and during a pandemic, it was key to ensuring a comprehensive response that not only protected our patients but safeguarded our communities. Mercer shared, “We have built relationships with other health systems that prior to COVID-19 we may have seen as competitors. Overall, the pandemic further emphasized to us that caring for our communities is an honor and a privilege for all involved—regardless of affiliation.” Dr. Jarvis added, “We have also been innovative and collaborative working with local manufacturers and universities to develop items such as new personal protective equipment. In addition, our statewide reach has allowed us to rapidly deploy to suspected outbreaks to assist the Maine CDC in collecting specimens, contact tracing, and symptom monitoring. Among all this, it was important that we also support our communities, and we did so by developing a webinar series to help businesses, industries, and schools reopen safely. These statewide efforts help to demonstrate what our system can be capable of when met with new challenges.” With all that the system has in place now, there are no signs of it slowing down as we prepare for the next phase of pandemic response. “Now is the time to plan for the months ahead,” says Dr. Jarvis. “We already have a partnership in place with the state and other health agencies to be able to provide vaccination against COVID-19 when a safe and effective vaccine is available. While the details are forthcoming, we will be prepared to serve our communities. Together, we’re making healthcare work for all of Maine.”

Jim Jarvis, MD, FAAFP Medical Director, Clinical Education and Clinical Lead for COVID-19 Incident Command

nimbly transitioned our care managers to address this immediate need. They were, and continue to be, focused on bringing nursing assessments to high risk, symptomatic patients who do not require hospitalization but who could deteriorate quickly—a service available to all Northern Light Health providers for their patients by referral. This model not only keeps patients out of the hospital, but is ensuring they are receiving personalized, potentially life-saving care.” James Jarvis, MD, medical director of Clinical Education at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center and clinical lead for the COVID-19 Incident Command says that the pandemic has emphasized how our hospitals are not so different after all, and also, as a greater community we can take our strengths to develop amazing solutions. “We have built systemwide clinical guidelines not only for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, but other disorders as well that help ensure the care our patients receive is uniform and evidence-based across our hospitals, practices, and home care,” Dr. Jarvis comments. “Together, we have also

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