Farewell to COVID Ceremony Held

Photos from the event can be found at the bottom of the page. 

To mark the end of the COVID-19 national public health emergency within our EAH organization, a moment of silence was held at EAMC, EAMC-Lanier and other facilities on June 15. Then, each hospital campus held a brief service of healing and hope. On the main campus, President and CEO Laura Grill spoke first. “The past 2-3 years have been a blur for all of us,” she said, “but I can say that I know this organization, and the people who make up the body of this organization, stood in the gap to take care of this community in ways that are just unspeakable. It was a traumatic experience, but I’m glad we’re all here and acknowledging it.” Laura went on to encourage everyone to feel positive about the days ahead. “It’s time for us collectively as an organization to move forward, to look to the future and not dwell on things from the past.”

Michael Roberts, M.D., who served as chief of staff during the worst of the pandemic, recently wrote some thoughts on the pandemic and shared it at the ceremony. Regarding the recent announcement by the CDC that the public health emergency is over, Dr. Roberts said, “It marks an end to a chapter in our lives that has affected us deeply. It is hard for me to remember what I felt like before the world changed in early 2020. In many ways, my life is now divided into before COVID and after COVID,” he stated.

“So, what now?,” asked Dr. Roberts. “Do we go back to who we were before COVID like nothing ever happened? I don’t think that is possible. It is not possible to see the things that we saw day in and day out for so many months without carrying that with you. The challenge at this point is to carry forward the lessons learned while recognizing the damage done. We went through hell, but made it to the other side. Our perseverance got us to work every day, even at the darkest times. Our teamwork saved lives. Our resiliency was tested, but now gives us an opportunity to take the next step.”

Dr. Roberts finished by saying “I don’t want to pretend like I have all the answers. Healing from COVID probably looks a little different for each of us. Some wounds are deeper than others and take more time to fade. The first step in healing from trauma is to acknowledge that the trauma occurred. So, take this time to reflect on where you were, where you are now, and what you have gone through. There is much work to be done, but there are better days ahead.”

Ricardo Maldonado, M.D., who led us through the pandemic as our infectious disease specialist, followed Dr. Roberts and started by recalling a recent conversation with a gentleman who spent 57 days in the hospital with COVID. Dr. Maldonado told the gentleman that his life was “one of hundreds” that was saved here. “I told him there were so many people involved. I would see him for a few minutes every day, but there was a nurse, an MCT, every day, 24 hours a day, for the whole duration of his hospitalization. There was a physical therapist…there were respiratory therapists…there were pulmonologists, internal medicine doctors, hospitalists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, everybody. I’m probably forgetting who all was involved in the care of these patients. It was a lot of unity, a lot of togetherness.”

Dr. Maldonado went on to mention the work of Security, EVS, Administration, and said “the list goes on and on.” He also stated that “There’s no doubt in my mind, even though Alabama had one of the highest mortality rates, that in our hospital, we saved more lives than any other place in the state. The work we did in this hospital was just amazing—I thank every single one of you. We should all be proud of the way our hospital handled COVID-19. The response to the pandemic here was honest, science-based, courageous, patriotic, Christian and life-saving. From the bottom of my heart, it was my honor to work with you.”

Brooke Bailey, Infection Control director, and EAMC’s Covid “sheriff,” shared some statistics from our pandemic efforts (see graphic) and talked about the teamwork. “We overcame so much,” said Brooke. “We worked together, united, to take care of our community, oftentimes without taking care of ourselves. But please remember how each one of you contributed and made an impact for our patients and our community.”

Chaplain Laura Eason wrapped up the ceremony at EAMC with some words and an activity. “We made it through together as a team,” she said. “Each and every one of you had a part in making that happen, regardless of what your job was.” She went on to say that she wanted to choose an item to have as an ongoing marker of the pandemic. She said she thought an anchor was appropriate because it symbolizes hope as well as steadfastness, calm and composure. “An anchor keeps sailors safe in rough seas. If a storm comes, you don’t just drift. You have to put an anchor out to keep you steadfast.”

Chaplain Laura then unveiled an anchor that will be placed in the EAMC Chapel. On it were these words: “ANCHORED – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5"