What were the most significant challenges the healthcare system faced when the COVID-19 crisis first hit? When we first saw the ravages of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, Milan, Italy, and New York City, U.S., our nation was largely unprepared to face this kind of assault on our healthcare system. We did not have the protocols to deal with COVID-19 patients, a plan for where to cohort these patients, or a secure supply chain. It was fortunate that we were one of a few academic medical centers in the United States that received funding to develop the infrastructure and specialized training needed to offer care and limit the spread of lethal contagions. Our Special Pathogens Team at Hershey had trained for years to respond to a pandemic such as COVID-19. This training helped us react quickly to treat COVID patients and keep our other patients, healthcare providers, and staff safe. It also enabled us to manage the supply chain that suddenly had new demands for the many articles needed to provide safe, efficient treatment and patient care. As an academic medical center, we also needed to figure out how to continue training our students and keep some research efforts while protecting everyone. Finally, there was a palpable fear that this epidemic would overwhelm our health system. I am very proud of how Penn State Health responded quickly and effectively to these multiple challenges. We set up incident command centers for our hospitals and Penn State Health that functioned admirably to address all these challenges.
Q&A With Dr. Robert Harbaugh ’74 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are Dr. Harbaugh’s and
What are the biggest challenges the country, and Pennsylvania itself, still face regarding the COVID-19 pandemic? A quote, often inaccurately attributed to Mark Twain, comes to mind: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” We have learned a lot about COVID-19 in the past few months, but there are still many more questions than answers, and we need to recognize this.
should not be construed to represent the opinions of Penn State
We have learned that the overall mortality rate for this disease
Health or the Penn State College of Medicine.
is much less than initially feared. Estimates have fallen from
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