A New Voice on the Subject of COVID-19
Hello Boca Grande Clinic Community,
I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself and say hello! I am Mark Driscoll, the new CEO of the Boca Grande Health Clinic. I have been with the Clinic now for almost two months and I look forward to meeting all of you over the coming year.
It has been over six months since we all first heard about Covid-19. A lot has changed since then, but the Clinic’s focus on your health and safety has not wavered. A lot of work has been accomplished and you will be hearing from the Clinic frequently over the next few months about how we are continuously improving our patient safety focus.
I am hopeful that most of you have heard about the Boca Grande Pledge and the work behind it. The pledge was developed by Dr. Hana at the Clinic along with members of Island businesses and organizations, indicating their support for wearing masks and other important actions to slow the spread of the virus. To date, 75 businesses and over 600 individuals have made this commitment. As a result of this strong effort to follow CDC guidelines, the island is much safer than several months ago.
The Clinic has a long tradition of excellent patient safety and clinical care. I want to tell you a little bit of what we have accomplished recently.
- The Clinic and Annex will continue to have separate care teams of Clinic staff. This will help keep patient care going at one Clinic site if there is an exposure at the other.
- A patient screening guideline has been developed. This is important because you will know what to do when you come to the Clinic. This guideline will continue to be revised as new information becomes available.
- What happens if you have been exposed? The Clinic has developed a protocol that details exactly what you should do. In addition, the Clinic has the ability to schedule Covid-19 testing for patients and employers. The starting point is your Clinic primary care physician who begins the process.
- The Clinic staff can now work from home, if needed. New computers and the related equipment have been installed. This new upgrade will provide a more robust computer network for quicker and more efficient access.
- A Command Center meeting has been implemented twice a month. This meeting includes Clinic members, community members, and Clinic Board participants. This meeting ensures that all parties can stay informed and up to date on activities and education.
- Personal protection equipment has been stockpiled in anticipation of shortages. This means the Clinic has the gloves, masks, and gowns needed to continue clinical operations into the future.
- We want to ensure the cleanest clinical facilities possible. To that end air duct cleaning is in process. Installation of a state-of-the-art air purifying system will be installed in the Clinic and the Annex. An additional deep Covid-19 cleaning process will also occur weekly. All these measures are being implemented to keep our facilities as clean and safe as possible.
- The Clinic has learned a lot about virtual visits over the last six months. New hardware and software are being implemented that will improve the virtual visit patient experience. You will be hearing more about this over the coming months.
- The Clinic website is a good site for Covid-19 information. We are in the process of revising and updating the website to be more relevant and easier to use.
The bottom line is that we are working hard to keep you informed and educated about efforts and results.
We are developing a comprehensive “Back to the Island Plan” that will be unveiled over the coming weeks. Our hope is that all the communication pieces and related vehicles that we are developing will help to answer your questions.
Please feel free to contact me at mark.driscoll@bghc.org with any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Mark Driscoll
CEO Boca Grande Health Clinic
About the Author
Mark Driscoll
Mark began leading the Clinic’s operations in July 2020. He brings with him more than 30 years of healthcare experience in service line administration, practice management, managed care, and business development. His strengths as an entrepreneurial-minded, financially grounded executive with strong performance and achievement drive and exceptional team-building skills are invaluable in his role as […]
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