The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) recognized local health care leaders with Friends of WSHA COVID Awards Oct. 28 for their work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The recipients helped with patient care as well as the procurement and distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medication.
The recipients were:
- Rowland Thompson and the Dhingyi Group for securing and importing critical PPE.
- Kaiser Permanente and David Efroymson for warehouse space and expert assistance in helping WSHA’s PPE procurement and distribution efforts.
- Boeing Employees Flying Association for quickly delivering masks to rural hospitals.
- Kathy Lofy, MD and John Wiesman, DrPH, MPH, of the Washington State Department of Health for leading Washington state through the COVID response.
- Kristin Peterson from the Washington State Department of Health for leading key work on law waivers that provided hospitals with the flexibility needed to care for a surge in patients.
- EvergreenHealth for sharing their experience identifying and treating the first community-acquired COVID cases.
- Swedish First Hill and Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center for storing and distributing Remdesivir.
- Washington Medical Care Coordination Center house at UW/Harborview Medical Center led by Mark Taylor and Steve Mitchell and the Northwest Response Network led by Onora Lien for coordinating and moving patients and supplies.
“These award recipients were literally life savers,” WSHA President and CEO Cassie Sauer said. “It was pretty frightening when the first cases of community transmission were reported in Washington, but our health care community immediately mobilized. It was this quick and coordinated response that ensured our hospitals were never overwhelmed and that no patient was turned away. We owe a debt of gratitude to all these leaders for their tireless work.”
The recipients were recognized at the Oct. 28 installment of the association’s 2020 Annual Meeting eSeries, which is being held throughout the fall. The event is typically held as an in-person conference for the state’s health care leaders, but this year’s event became the association’s first conference entirely virtually.
