Employer of the Year:
Piedmont Newton
CEO: Staff was ‘incredible at what they do’ during pandemic By TOM SPIGOLON
heroes’ has been used pretty liberally across the country and the world. But, I can honestly tell you David Kent said the Piedmont Newton Hospital that the people that we have in the hospital have staff he leads has been “truly heroic” during the been truly heroic,” he said. pandemic. Kent served as a top executive for Cancer TreatKent, who is chief executive officer of The Covment Centers of America before joining Piedmont ington News’ 2021 Employer of the Year, said the Healthcare’s Newton County hospital in April 2020 medical facility on U.S. Highway 278 has seen both — about a month after the pandemic began in the good and bad effects of the yearlong COVID-19 earnest in Metro Atlanta. pandemic. Patient demand for COVID services at Piedmont “On the one hand, it’s been a difficult and chalNewton went through three “peaks” and four lenging year, not just because of taking care of “valleys” — sharp increases and sharp declines — COVID patients. That has been difficult,” he said. during the course of the pandemic, he said. “But the fear and uncertainty about what the “We’re still seeing COVID patients obviously at pandemic will bring, the application it will have the hospital but the overall number of COVID paon the hospital and all our community and on our tients is just relatively low for us right now,” he said own staff family. It’s been trying and difficult to in late March of this year. manage through,” Kent said. One example of how hospital staff members “On the other side of the coin, it’s those condimade him proud during the pandemic was the tions — difficult, uncertain and challenging — that way they shifted to a different routine of working, really creates an environment for people to be such as putting in extra time to clean the facility, really incredible at what it is they do. he said. “So, as difficult as it’s been, the term ‘health care “Change is hard sometimes,” Kent said. “They tspigolon@covnews.com
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