Charting our course through the pandemicButler Health System is fortunate to have the strong support of physi-cian leaders as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our community has witnessed conflicting stories that have come out of such a complex and uncertain situation. From the availability of testing to claims of medications being an effective treatment, there have been many confusing statements about the coronavirus disease. The physician leaders of BHS have removed conjecture and relied on scientific data and facts to assist in charting our course through this health care crisis.

Our expert physician leaders have been meeting routinely, long before the virus arrived in our area. These meetings were always guided by one principle: “What is the right thing to do for our community?” With the community’s welfare in mind, we canceled elective surgeries before other regional health systems and made changes to visitation within the hospital. Surge capacity planning was also put in place well in advance of its need.

A coordinated plan of actionNew policies on protective equipment were needed. An aggressive adoption of social distancing within our ambulatory offices was deemed necessary and enacted at an amazing rate. Implementing such processes and policies across the more than 75 discrete ambulatory sites over the eight counties we serve was not easy. Frequent and consistent communication from leaders to all members of the BHS team made this possible. Calls with business lead-ers, with skilled nursing facilities and with our regional partners solidified our understanding that we were led by physicians at a time when physician leadership was vital.

As we work toward a plan to return to normalcy, these physician leaders will con-tinue their efforts with a focus on that one metric that matters most: “What is the right thing for our communities?” Much uncertainty remains for us all, but Butler Health System will continue to lean on its clinician leaders to support our patients, our employees and our community members, both now and well into the future.

BHS is here for youWhere does one begin to describe what our country and our community—the world, actually—has been through this year? The pandemic has changed everything. Nobody has experienced this particular crisis before, and there is no road map to follow.

I will begin with a huge thank-you to all the staff across Butler Health System. I chal-lenge anybody to find a community-based, independent health system that has risen to the challenge better than the team here. There are far too many people to thank, but I must give a special shout-out to the doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists who are the direct caregivers of COVID-19 patients. It’s stressful, it’s worrisome, and it’s exhaust-ing. They are consummate pros. This issue of Health Link is dedicated to the entire BHS team. You will read about our pandemic experience, authored by BHS physician leaders.

Nobody knows what the situation will be when you are reading this, but I write this during the first week that Butler Memorial Hospital and BHS Clarion Hospital slowly “reopened” (we’ve never been closed, continuing to provide urgent, emergency, medical and surgical care all along), performing elective surgeries and procedures. We have been guided by safety for staff and patients since the pandemic began. This com-mitment will never change.

Before the pandemic hit, an issue that was on my mind was getting people in the community to understand and give serious consideration to what their independent, locally controlled health system means to them. This issue is on my mind now more than ever. I have always known that when something bad happens, BHS is viewed as the safety net for the community. I have to believe that everybody knows that now. Providing effective health care and being the safety net for the community is foundational to the BHS mission. But also very important is what Butler Health System means to the economic security of the region.

Committed to our communityBHS is the largest employer in Butler and Clarion counties. It is the 19th largest employer across all of west-ern Pennsylvania. I would argue that as go the fortunes of Butler Health System, so go the fortunes of the community. Our community has experienced many ups and downs, and we know what it is to worry about jobs and financial security. The people of BHS, led by the Board of Trustees and senior management, work tirelessly so that the community asset known as Butler Health System remains standing strong, available when you need us.

We have defied the odds. BHS remains independent and locally controlled. But it now faces unprec-edented competition. Other health care providers keep showing up throughout our market. Competition doesn’t scare me—I welcome it. It makes any organization better.

But I appeal to you to choose your health care provider carefully. As outsiders come in and attempt to take patients, what you do matters. Butler Health System’s quality and costs are as good as or better than anybody’s. And you know that supporting local businesses matters. The need for you to support BHS is no different. Your support and your choice of BHS is how we will continue to be in control of our own destiny. That is how we will be here for you.

The coronavirus pandemic has rocked hospitals financially. We have had to make difficult decisions. I do not know what the future of health care delivery will look like. Without a doubt it will be different. We have proven our ability to respond quickly and effectively in caring for our community. Our telehealth and telemedicine capabilities went from very little to booming in a few days. We adapted many areas of our facilities to be used for surge capacity, if needed. We created safe work spaces and effectively tested and screened patients for COVID-19, ensuring that all patients are in safe and separate care units. Whatever the future brings, we will continue to be the health care leader in our community. You count on us for it.

I arrived at Butler Health System 34 years ago. I have learned that bigger is not better. Working side by side with our families, friends and neighbors, caring for this community—that is what’s better. It’s what mat-ters. Please think about this when you choose your health care provider. Choose the doctors and hospitals of Butler Health System. That is how we ensure that BHS has local control and independence and that we are here for you. In good times. And in bad.

As always, thank you for your support.

Elliot Smith, MD, President, Physician Groups and Chief Quality Officer

BHS

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Ken DeFurio, President and CEO

HEALTH LINK2 |

As Karen left the hospital, BHS staff members celebrated by lining a hallway and applauding her as she went by.

Together during a difficult timeICU staff make sure COVID-19 patient and family stay connected

On March 20, Karen Rich was breathless, feverish and extremely fatigued. As doctors at Butler Health System (BHS) gave her oxygen through a mask, she nervously awaited her test results and wondered if she might have COVID-19.

Those suspicions were confirmed on March 23 when Karen tested positive for the virus responsible for the worst pandemic since 1918.

“The nurses tried to comfort me, and they assured me that everything would be OK,” Karen recalls.

But as Karen’s condition worsened, doctors made the critical decision to place her on a ventilator to help her breathe. Karen’s family hadn’t been able to see her in person due to the temporary visitor restric-tions hospitals everywhere have adopted to help keep people safe. However, the intensive care unit (ICU) staff managed to connect Karen and her loved ones in a virtual way. Shortly before they inserted her breath-ing tube, they handed Karen an iPad so she and her family could video chat.

A joyful reunionWhen Karen was finally able to come off the ventila-tor, the ICU staff used the iPad again—this time to share the news of her recovery. Shane, one of her nurses, encouraged Karen to wave and give a thumbs-

up to her family. Karen feared her husband, son and daughter-in-law would be alarmed by her appearance after several days of illness, but Shane insisted she show her family she was OK.

“I am so grateful for that because I had no idea how scared and anxious my family was to see me,” Karen says. “After I spoke with them, I realized it wasn’t about how scary I looked. It was to help my family through a worrisome time.”

On the day Karen went home, Roland “Bud” Weck-erly sang a special hymn for her via video. Weckerly, the father of clinical nurse supervisor Stacey Heider, RN, BSN, has been singing daily hymns to inspire BHS staff since the pandemic began.

As Karen left the hospital, BHS staff members celebrated by lining a hallway and applauding her as she went by—her right hand placed tenderly over her heart. Moments later, Karen stood and embraced her husband for the first time since her ordeal and then thanked the entire BHS medical team for sav-ing her life.

Roland “Bud” Weckerly sang a special hymn for Karen via video to celebrate her release from the hospital.

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at butlerhealthsystem.org.

ButlerHealthSystem.org | 3

In 2017, Butler Health System launched a telehealth program with the goal of providing timely, convenient access to BHS specialists in our rural communities. This foundation allowed us to move quickly when faced with the need to deliver care outside of our facilities due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We needed to keep our patients and health care professionals safe, yet continue to care for our patients. Virtual visits enabled this flexibility.

Today, our primary care and specialist providers are able to offer virtual ap-pointments in our patients’ homes. Audiovisual technology allows the provider to stay connected with their patients, diagnose and treat them, refill prescrip-tions, and simply be available for our patients needing care.

Medical providers make heartwarming connections Now more than ever, telehealth has provided a path for BHS staff to connect with each other, our patients and the community.

“I have heard from many providers that they thought that they were only seeing a patient for their blood pressure or other medical problem but then learned of other prob-lems—that the patient was alone, their partner lost their job, they were applying for unemployment for the first time, their children were stuck far away in another state or they could not visit relatives in nursing homes,” says Cindy Esser, Director of Emerging Technologies. “There are many instances of tears shed and concerns shared, and our providers offering the best medicine—our time and empathy. Telehealth visits are not the same as seeing patients in person, but they are a bridge.”

Many accomplishments and transformations have oc-curred at BHS in a short time. Implementing telehealth across the organization, within days, is just one.

“It has served as a tool for us to care for our patients, for them to connect with us when they could not leave home and for us to offer reassurance that we will be there to help them along the way,” says Norman K. Beals III, MD, Chief Innovation Officer & Vice President of Ambulatory Care. “Through all of this, we have never lost sight of that, no mat-ter how we connect with our patients. It is our experience, knowledge and compassion that is important to patients, and being there for them is our priority.”

Video calls bring patients and loved ones togetherAt the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, BHS leaders and the Hospital Board moved quickly to limit its spread and keep patients and staff safe. Early on, the very tough decision of prohibiting visits from family members was made to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Understanding that family support is key to healing, BHS quickly acted to fill this need by creating a group of 15 staff volunteers who go room to room to

COVID-19 has brought telehealth to the forefront of patient care

Virtual reality

TELE

HEA

LTH

Compassionate Rounders, from left: Sandy Pipes, Susan Skiff, Sharon Marx, Amy Kredel, Trudy Homa, Carolyn Sofi, Marie Yingling, Jessi Geibel, Luellen Gall, Terri Isacco and Mindy Dunkerley. Not pictured: Terri Hagmaier, Kristen Kinkela, Amy Fields and Kayla Steffler.

Norman K. Beals III, MD, Chief Innovation Officer, Vice President Ambulatory Care

Cindy Esser, BSN, MHA, MBA,Director, Emerging Technologies

HEALTH LINK4 |

Being a hospitalistduring COVID-19According to Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you’re going to get.”

That is what it’s like to be a hospitalist caring for inpatients at a hospital these days. As the COVID-19 virus invades our communities, we know that the symptoms can be vague. They can include fever, shortness of breath, and gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms, like headaches and dizziness and the loss of taste and smell.

All of our senses are piqued, looking for any clues that make us suspicious. It is a new challenge every day, with every patient. We have to be the eyes and ears and hands of other physicians as well.

We’re in this togetherButler Health System Clarion Hospital has a hospitalist team that includes three physicians, one nurse practitioner, and two or three family medicine residents in training at any given time. We care for all levels of patients and are the eyes and ears on patients while their primary care physicians are busy in their offices, manning the outpatient practice. We are on call 24/7 to coor-dinate and direct the care of patients from admission to discharge, whether on the medical-surgical floor or in the Intensive Care Unit.

An even bigger team supports us at the Butler Health System Clarion Hospital level that extends to the higher level of specialty care at Butler Memorial Hospital. We have a team of specialists available to us through telehealth who can provide phone consults and arrange transfers for specialty care.

While we’ve only had a handful of COVID-19-positive patients in the hospital, we still have to be at the ready for anything that may come our way. We have been privileged and prepared to care for you and your family here at Butler Health System Clarion Hospital, and we are grateful for your trust in our teams who are caring for you.

Catherine Cunningham, DO, HospitalistButler Health System Clarion Hospital

support patients with virtual visits from their families. The patients and their loved ones are so appreciative, and it has been a wonderful experience for the staff involved as well. Since the week of March 15, these volunteers have been serving our colleagues, our patients and their families as Compassionate Rounders.

Compassionate Rounders are masked crusadersEach nursing unit has an iPad available 24/7 to link patients and family mem-bers whenever desired.

“Thanks to technology and our Information Systems staff, we had our first FaceTime call on March 28,” says Marie Yingling, RN, Clinical Informatics Clini-cian. “It was a total surprise to the daughter who had not seen her mom for two weeks. The look on that daughter’s face was priceless!”

The Compassionate Rounders travel with an iPad and make many video calls every day of the week.

“We shared the joy of a grandma seeing her grandbaby. We have connected families that are many states away from each other,” Marie says. “There is noth-ing like seeing your loved one, whether you are the patient or their family.”

One memorable visit turned into a patient’s singing a song he created to the tune of “Folsom Prison Blues.” His joy despite COVID-19 was infectious.

“I think we got more from that visit than he did!” Marie says. “Being privi-leged to share the joy and sorrows of our patients as we lend an ear has been heartwarming. Video calls made for our patients in isolation because of COVID-19 are critical. Just seeing a loved one resting comfortably brings such peace. Our Compassionate Rounders continue to provide a vital link between our patients and family members as we all fight this virus together.”

Telehealth at BHS brings your doctor right to your phone or computer. Learn more about

how it works at butlerhealthsystem.org/Services/ Telehealth.aspx.

Social distancing is important for stopping the spread of coronavirus. But it can be stressful. Getting outdoor exercise can boost your mood and reduce anxiety. So go ahead and go for a run or walk. However, stay 6 feet from others whenever possible. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; HelpGuide

ButlerHealthSystem.org | 5

Anie Perard, MD, OB-GYN, Chief of Staff, Butler Health System Clarion Hospital

Our goal from the very beginning has been to take good care of our patients while limiting exposure to the novel coronavirus disease.

This virus is spread via close contact through drop-lets. An infected person who coughs, sneezes or speaks can release the droplets, and anyone who comes into contact with those droplets can then become infected.

Common symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever (a temperature of 100.4 degrees or more), a cough and shortness of breath. Symptoms may not appear for a week after exposure. Early symptoms include fatigue, body aches and feeling warm. Late symptoms can include diarrhea and loss of the senses of taste and smell.

Protecting at-risk womenPregnant women are known to be at greater risk of severe morbidity and mortality from other respira-tory infections, such as influenza. This means they get sicker if they get infected with those viruses. So it’s reasonable to assume that the same is true for

COVID-19. Pregnant women are therefore an at-risk population. In the wake of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic, providers at BHS Clarion Hospital and across the Health System, including Butler Memorial Hospital, started a new approach to prenatal care.

We wanted to limit pregnant women’s visits to the office, thereby limiting their direct exposure to other sick or exposed patients. We limited clinic visits to those who require in-person services (like ultrasounds and lab tests) and initiated virtual visits for care that could be done remotely. Overall, the pregnancy is managed the same way.

Our goal always is to optimize the mother’s health and well-being. When and how to deliver is based on pregnancy indications, not on whether mom has the infection or has been exposed. As always, the women were asked to call the office if they had any questions or concerns.

Similar models were endorsed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. We will continue these safety practices as we look toward increasing access over time. This enables us to meet our patients’ needs without exposing them unnecessarily to an illness that could complicate an otherwise normal pregnancy or a pregnancy already complicated by other medical conditions.

Prenatal care during the pandemic

So happy togetherStrong support is still part of the birthing experience, even during the pandemic

On April 14, Baby Lena arrived at BHS. She had dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. Her mom and dad, first-time parents Alyssa and Cody Cribbs, were thrilled.

“We couldn’t wait to get back to the room and hold her and give her lots of love,” Alyssa says.

Little Lena was born at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is changing the typical birth experience. The couple had heard some hospitals were restricting maternity visitors altogether.

“We were nervous,” Cody says. “So when we found out that Butler allowed one support person to be there, it was a huge weight lifted off our shoulders.”

Cody was able to be with Alyssa throughout her labor, unexpected cesarean birth and recovery. And he kept the rest of the family updated. Later, he and Alyssa used a video app to show their parents and siblings the baby.

The couple found a silver lining to their low-key maternity stay: “We really enjoyed just being with each other and learning Lena’s cues and sleeping patterns,” Alyssa says. “The nursing and labor and delivery staff at Butler were absolutely wonderful.”

CO

VID

-19

Baby on the way? Visit butlerhealthsystem.org/Services/Maternity.aspx to explore what BHS Maternity

Centers do to protect you and your baby every day.

HEALTH LINK6 |

Tee Off Fore a Healthier Community Golf Outing The BHS Foundation’s golf outing has been rescheduled to Monday, July 27, at Butler Country Club. Registration and lunch begin at 11 a.m. Tee off is at 12:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit Butler Memorial Hospital.

For details on participating in the golf outing, please visit the BHS Foundation website at bhs-foundation.org or call 724-284-4716.

The Clarion Hospital Foundation Humphrey Family Golf TournamentThe Clarion Hospital Foundation’s golf tournament is set for Friday, July 31, at Pinecrest Country Club. Registration and a continental breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. Tee off is at 10 a.m. Proceeds benefit the Clarion Hospital Foundation and the Humphrey Family Memorial Scholarship Fund.

For details on participating in the golf tournament, please visit the Butler Health System Clarion Hospital website at clarionhospital.org or call 814-226-1262.

News about upcoming community events

BHSFoundation_SupportOurHeroesCampaign.pdf 1 5/6/2020 8:48:54 AM

ButlerHealthSystem.org | 7

Butler Health System complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. TTY: 711. 注意：如果您使用繁體中文，您可以免費獲得語言援助服務。TTY: 711。

HEALTH LINK is published as a community service for the friends and patrons of:

BUTLER MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: 1 Hospital Way, Butler, PA 16001-4670 724-283-6666 • butlerhealthsystem.org

Ken DeFurio President and CEO

Jana Panther Director of Marketing and Public Relations

Anne Lehman Editor

To opt out of this mailing, contact Public Relations at 724-284-4200.

People who are hearing-impaired can access the hospital by calling the AT&T operator at 1-800-654-5988 (voice) or 1-800-654-5984 (TDD). The caller can then notify the AT&T relay system operator and request relay services to BMH at 724-283-6666.

Information in HEALTH LINK comes from a wide range of medical experts. If you have any concerns or questions about

specific content that may affect your health, contact your health care provider. Models may be used in photos and illustrations.

BUTLER MEMORIAL HOSPITAL is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on any basis, including a person’s age, sex, color, race, religious beliefs, national origin, disability or lifestyle. BMH also provides services without discrimination regardless of a person’s age, sex, color, race, religious beliefs, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, lifestyle or source of payment.

2020 © Coffey Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

Numbers to know Butler Memorial Hospital Main 724-283-6666

BHS Clarion Hospital Main 814-226-9500

BHS Care Center: Find a doctor near you!

833-602-CARE (833-602-2273)