I was recently interviewed on a radio talk show called Successful Aging that covers diverse topics relevant to maximizing quality of life, longevity, health, wealth, happiness, and a purpose-driven life.
The interview is available here, but I while listening back I was reminded of an overlooked crux of this issue.
Nobody was fully prepared for a pandemic, and an organized, ordered response was not the reality in any community or field. But in long-term care, an industry in the infancy of realizing how crucial infection prevention and control really is, to be faced with fighting COVID-19 was nothing short of catastrophic.
While many are looking to assign culpability or point fingers, I am an optimist. I wish to focus on the solution and positivity, and if there is one silver lining that comes with a devastating pandemic in our industry, is that we are faced with a crash course in infection prevention and control.
I completely understand that almost all of us in long-term care have nothing to feel warm and fuzzy about right now, and I am by no means saying we should. What I do wish to convey, is that while COVID-19 has been devastating, remember that all the measures we are applying right now to battle this virus will be foundational to moving forward. The much-needed groundwork we are laying right now will save countless lives moving forward. We are mitigating the 1000+ lives lost from other infections like Staph, MRSA, and C. Difficile that claimed so many loved ones before the pandemic.
The work we do today, while challenging, exhausting, and pushing us to our limits makes a difference. I need you to know this: Not only are you saving lives today, but you are preventing more pain and loss of life for tomorrow.
Thank you to all of our healthcare worker superheroes out there. Be safe and be well.