Battling COVID on all fronts CEO perspective
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our friends and family that stand on the front lines in the face of Northeast Arkansas’ health emergencies have been working harder than ever before.
It is a blessing to be a small part of a team that doesn’t back down when they are called to serve. They put themselves, and often their own families at risk each and every day. This has been amplified many times over in the face of COVID-19. We are not only fighting a battle against a little known foe whom we cannot see, but also the effects of the selflessness of our team. The effects of this selflessness are too many to count, and include a host of emotional and physical impact. Many studies have cited health care workers to be
experiencing ongoing anxiety, fatigue, depression, insomnia, and distress all while continuing to go to work caring for their own neighbors, their congregations, and their loved ones.
If you had the chance to walk through our Intensive Care Unit, you would find that the threat of COVID-19 is real, and it does not discriminate the way some would have you believe.
Some have contracted the virus themselves despite diligent use of protective equipment and procedures.
There are countless stories of lives that have been lost, and those that have been changed forever.
But in the face of the most dangerous pandemic our nation has seen in many years, our health care workers continue to fight.
In the face of all of these things, I pray that the fruits of the Spirit persist in our team at NEA Baptist, in our peers in other health care institutions, and in the hearts of each of us across our communities as more than ever, we must care for each other.
They work long shifts and extra days. They continue to learn and adjust. They continue to be creative and innovative in their approach to testing, treatment, and communication. They are preparing plans for how to do even more in order to scale as our number of hospitalized patients continues to grow. NEA Baptist has tested nearly 20,000 patients, and cared for nearly 2,000 positive patients across our integrated health system. While these numbers sound small to some, I assure you the impact is widespread. Sam Lynd, CEO NEA Baptist
20 NEA HEALTH • 2020
Approach each situation and each person you encounter with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Above all else, I’m proud of the NEA Baptist team for taking this time of trouble and strife to only brighten the ministry to which we have all dedicated our lives – delivering on the three-fold ministry of Christ – healing, preaching, and teaching.
