As we continue to navigate our paths through the various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we should also take the time to consider the challenges our staff have needed to manage.

My practice has been fortunate in that the vast majority of those who make our ASC function have been able to get through this difficult time and continue to work at a high level of performance. However, for many it has been a very significant challenge.

Consider the nurse who’s a single parent with two children who need help navigating online schooling. Finding a way to manage that and still function at a high level at work is a daunting task. So is having a family member who has or had COVID, and needing to deal with the ramifications of that. There are certainly many other circumstances outside of the workplace that our staff must deal with of which we often are unaware.

The pandemic continues to create unexpected challenges for us as owners as well as for our staff. The migration of large numbers of people leaving big cities for smaller communities has created a new set of issues for workers in those areas. A recent news story from the town of Ketchum, ID, where Sun Valley is located, described how many hospital staff could no longer find affordable housing because the exploding real estate market had decimated the rental market for middle-income earners. With no place to live, many staff are looking to move to other areas to work.

Every morning when I come into the ASC to operate, I see all my staff already there, working away to get patients ready for surgery. That doesn’t happen by accident. It takes dedication and commitment. I hope I never lose sight of what makes that possible. ■