Strategies for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural health system in New York state

Abstract

Research and media reports about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have largely focused on urban areas due to their high caseloads. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presents distinct and under-recognized challenges to rural areas. This report describes the challenges faced by Bassett Healthcare Network (BHN), a health network in rural upstate New York, and the strategies BHN devised in response. The response to COVID-19 at BHN focused on 4 strategies: (1) Expansion of intensive-care capacity. (2) Redeployment and retraining of workforce. (3) Provision of COVID-19 information, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral testing, and appropriate follow-up for a geographically dispersed population. (4) Coordination of the response to the pandemic across a large, diverse organization. Rural health systems and hospitals can take steps to address the specific challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in their communities. We believe that the strategies BHN employed to adapt to COVID-19 may be useful to other rural health systems. More research is needed to determine which strategies have been most effective in responding to the pandemic in other rural settings.

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“…In sum, the literature to date indicates there is still much to be done to support diverse women and gender-diverse individuals in their leadership journeys. Several studies have discussed the practice of allyship in health care (Spector and Overholser, 2022;Aron et al, 2021). What remains neglected is the lived experiences of those who have been marginalized and those who have undertaken the work of allyship, sharing successes as well as failures.…”

“…In sum, the literature to date indicates there is still much to be done to support diverse women and gender-diverse individuals in their leadership journeys. Several studies have discussed the practice of allyship in health care (Spector and Overholser, 2022; Aron et al. , 2021).…”

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