AnnualReport2020

Responding During the Coronavirus Pandemic

At the start of this New Year, few could imagine the unprecedented global health crisis we would face, the impact it would have on our everyday lives, the children we treat, staff across the organization who provide expert care, or the Shriners who guide and support the mission of Shriners Hospitals for Children. Health care, as we know it, has been changed forever by this global pandemic. Shriners Hospitals for Children is at the forefront of the crisis response in adapting to challenges in a new world of health care delivery brought about by this virus. Throughout the months of change communication with our patients and families, and kept them informed of changes necessitated by the situation. We have also implemented Fast Track Video Visits, a form of telehealth, for use across the system. This has helped ensure continuity of care for our established, domestic patients, especially for follow-up visits. In a tremendous example of our wrap-around care and ongoing concern for the overall health and well-being of our patients and families, some locations have created fun videos for patients and families to view and use while having to stay at home, with all sorts of activities and positive information to help people stay both occupied and positive. Some locations have also provided “pop up markets” on site, helping to ease the stress and difficulty of grocery shopping. Across our system, there are countless examples of community collaborations, generosity, concern, brought by the pandemic, our staff has continued to stay in Ongoing Care and Concern

and especially, resilience. We are proud of the compassion and fortitude of our amazing Shriners Hospitals for Children family, and we thank everyone for their efforts, especially our physicians. Our Physicians Take the Lead No single group has played a more pivotal role in addressing the difficulties faced during this time than physicians across the Shriners health care system, led by members of the Physician Executive Council. This group of seven chiefs of staff representing sites from coast to coast, spanning multiple clinical specialties has provided expert guidance and support to Shriners Hospitals for Children. Co-chairs John McCabe, executive vice president and George Thompson, M.D., interim chief medical officer, met weekly with this group to help map and plan out many aspects of Shriners Hospitals for Children’s coronavirus (COVID-19) response. These physicians assisted in leading the charge to establish and promote Fast Track Video Visits. This new form of telehealth delivery allows physicians and caregivers the opportunity to see and treat patients via mobile devices in their home without risking exposure for the child, family, caregiver or Shriner volunteers. Physicians across our enterprise have been instrumental in securing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including assisting in the development of alternative facemask options through 3D printing. They have raised funds in support of our locations and caregivers. Their commitment and dedication to the mission of the organization has never been more self-evident than through the crisis faced over the last several months.

The Physician Executive Council was also instrumental in querying multiple professional organizations and their Shriners physician colleagues in the development of new COVID-19 care guidelines and protocols for accepting and treating patients. These efforts have been key in helping to guide leadership across the organization in effectively addressing the coronavirus pandemic and in safely reinstating operations across all locations. These actions were based on doing what is in the best interest of our patients and their families, our caregivers and the Shriners who volunteer across our many locations. Experts agree that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has and will forever change much of the world around us. Nowhere will this be more evident than in the health care industry. As our focus shifts to the future, physicians across our health care system, and the Physician Executive Council in particular, will play an integral role in helping to shape, evolve and transform Shriners Hospitals for Children for this new reality. In fact, our organization was already pursuing many transformative pathways across every location throughout the system prior to the pandemic. The recent unprecedented challenges we have

faced should not hold us back from pursuing opportunities for the future in caring for more children, in more places, at a lower overall cost to the mission.

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