Last weekend, I came into the Health Share offices and while I was here, I ran into the gentleman who cleans our offices. We started chatting, and while he began asking questions about how to protect himself from COVID-19, what was more important to him was to reassure me that he was working really hard to do an extra deep cleaning of our offices to keep us safe. I realized that we too often forget those “hidden” members of our communities who are working so diligently behind the scenes to keep things clean and running as smoothly as possible.

This experience reminded me that there are a broad number of individuals who are working hard to keep us safe and that they are not just the clinicians, but a broader set of people -- many of whom are often overlooked, and not recognized.

On National Doctor’s Day, I wanted to recognize the health care teams across the nation and in our communities who are navigating extraordinary challenges to fulfill their mission of saving lives and keeping our communities healthy. They are showing incredible flexibility and resilience as they adjust to a variety of changes, including conducting services through telehealth or telemedicine, in some settings primarily addressing urgent and emergency visits, not performing elective or routine surgeries and many other changes. As a clinician myself, I am humbled by my colleagues' commitment to their patients. I also want to take this moment to recognize that without each member of the care team, including those in the background that we often don’t see, working extra hard to keep our clinical spaces clean and stocked, we would be in a much more difficult place right now.

At Health Share we are committed to the support of our care teams in this dynamic and high-stakes moment, so that you can focus your energy on patients — rather than administrative tasks.

We recognize that because things are changing so quickly it is difficult to keep up with all the updates and new guidance. That is why last week, we launched a webpage that will serve as a hub of resources for Health Share providers. Additionally, we will spotlight information providers can use on our blog. I encourage you to keep checking back as the situation evolves.

Again, thank you to our doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, behavioral health providers, oral health providers, nurses, first responders, clinic managers, janitors, drivers and so many other individuals that make up the broad care team. We are all in this together — and I am proud to be on your team.