Mary Drottz is an RN and works in quality improvement at St. Louise Regional Hospital—that means she sees every step of patient care and works to make it safer. With covid-19, it was vital to ensure that staff were protected as well.
With more patients coming in with the new virus, Mary says, “we had to put new systems into place, creating protocols that required everyone to abide by them. They were a lot and you had to be careful, but the nurses did such a great job.” Staff were exhausted by the work, scared for patients and for themselves.
“I saw what the VMC Foundation did for all staff, giving PPE but also providing boosts to staff morale —from the frontlines to those of us in the back offices. It takes all of us to keep things going,” she said.
The team has worked hard, for months now. As we head into the cold season, Mary is hopeful that the plan they built will hold together. “We haven’t had any cross contamination and we haven’t seen staff infected by patients.”
Mary reflects, “You can’t build a house and you can’t support a health system without a strong foundation. And you don’t want a community without a hospital. I donate because it all goes back to the community.”
Thank you, Mary and thank you to all of the staff throughout our health system who fight to keep us safe.
