A year of 'dedication and passion'

In 2021, Blanchard Valley Health System gave 35,415 COVID-19 tests, its imaging departments performed approximately 105,000 exams, and the Blanchard Valley Health Foundation awarded $734,111 in grants. But to president and CEO Myron Lewis, the story of the health system in 2021 centers around its people. Lewis, who recently completed his first year as Blanchard Valley's CEO, said he has learned a lot about the organization — and found that it depends on the people, and "the commitment that the staff have to the patients." He has found "the dedication and passion" of the employees — many of them working 80 hours every week through an ongoing pandemic — "awe-inspiring." Piloting a pandemic Lewis said the way the health system responds to COVID-19 has continued to "change and evolve as we learn." He's heard the analogy that health care workers worldwide are building an airplane while they are flying it. And throughout the pandemic, medical professionals have learned a great deal about how to take care of patients in general, especially the "significant" number in critical care. Lewis said he was impressed with "the resilience of the team" throughout. However, the sheer number of COVID-19 patients has put some stress on Blanchard Valley Hospital. And employees have often been out, either because they themselves were sick or had to quarantine, or because their children could not be in school. "That put pressure on the workforce," Lewis said. He said the health system must reassess every two to four hours, "our staffing, our equipment, can we do this surgery tomorrow?" Another challenge is that many people missed out on non-COVID-related health care in 2020. So that too has created some pressure recently, as more and more of these community members seek care. Lewis said the health system has had to constantly reassess its policies and procedures, from visitors to masking. As a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, BVHS leaders relied on Mayo for guidance, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Lewis said the relationship with the Mayo Clinic in general has given Blanchard Valley "a level of expertise at our fingertips" to help manage COVID-19.) Lewis said the biggest challenge may be that "the community, the country, kind of got tired of COVID," but the virus came back with "a vengeance" in the form of first the delta variant and then the omicron variant. He said the pandemic has been hard on staff, patients and their families. The health system has tried to preserve staff mental health and ward off burnout, but there have been challenges. For example, before the pandemic, the health system would host social gatherings for employees — but they can't all gather in a room together like that now. Lewis said health system leaders have been encouraged to make a point of thanking the front-line workers and have worked to keep wages and benefits competitive. The health system has also offered training for staff on how to manage stress, and has provided information on counseling, including financial counseling. The goal is to "try to educate, educate, educate," Lewis said. Blanchard Valley has also worked to educate the community, including providing information on COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. Between December 2020 and May 2021, the health system administered 23,027 doses of vaccine. More than 19,000 doses were for community members, at clinics given in partnership with Hancock Public Health, while the remaining doses were for health system employees. Lewis said he is "very appreciative" that community members responded so well to the Facebook Live events he and others spoke at in an effort to educate the public about the changing shape of COVID-19 locally. Lewis said the health system will likely continue holding these events. Adapting The early months of the pandemic in 2020 put financial pressure on health care systems, especially since they had to cancel elective surgeries. Lewis said BVHS is "on better track" financially today. But, like so many other organizations, it has been affected by supply chain issues. Lewis said the health system has about 100,000 different line items that it must procure, from catheters to Band-Aids. And what the health system can access as far as medications and supplies changes day to day. Behind the scenes, the health system accelerated investments in information technology tools to protect medical records and other files. In January 2021, BVHS and the University of Findlay announced a partnership intended to graduate a health care workforce that would stay local and benefit the community as a whole. Lewis said the effort has already proven to be "very, very, very helpful," and UF students are receiving clinical training at Blanchard Valley in fields ranging from nursing to pharmacy. And throughout the pandemic, relationships with other community organizations have strengthened "tenfold." He said leaders from BVHS and other groups have all gotten to know each other better as they have collaborated to solve problems. There "will always be a tighter bond" with Hancock Public Health, in particular, than there was before, he said. He likened it to two friends who go through a very difficult time together — 10 years later, they are likely to still be best friends. Other highlights Lewis said there has been "a lot of activity" around the relocation and construction of the Blanchard Valley Hospital inpatient pharmacy, along with the outpatient Center for Medication Management. The new location was celebrated on Sept. 28. Other highlights of the past year at Blanchard Valley include: • Dr. Renee Smith became the health system's new chief medical officer in November 2021. • Well at Work expanded occupational health services to the Carey Medical & Diagnostic Center. • The health system's Wound Care Solutions opened an outpatient ostomy clinic within its practice. • The health system acquired a building at 1917 S. Main St., to expand its obstetrics and gynecology services. • The Blanchard Valley Hospital Auxiliary presented $150,000 to the organization for the development and enhancement of the Blanchard Valley Health System Simulation & Innovation Center. This gift completes the auxiliary's three-year pledge, with a total of $525,000 to the project. The donation comes from fundraising efforts, as well as sales in the gift shops and the Nearly New Shop. • Bluffton Hospital was recognized as a 2021 Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital. Compiled by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, this 11th annual recognition program honors outstanding performance among the nation's rural hospitals based on the results of the Hospital Strength INDEX. Looking ahead to the coming year, Lewis said Blanchard Valley has evaluated all its facilities, and "you'll probably see us start a construction project" this year. In particular, the health system is planning to replace its laboratory space. Thinking back on the year, Lewis stressed that he wanted to particularly say "thank you to our staff, who remain resilient." While everyone else wanted COVID-19 to go away, "we were still dealing with it, day in and day out." He is grateful to the community, as well, for its support.