March 18, 2020: This interview continues the series of interviews we are having with health system executives where they share what their plans are for COVID-19 preparedness. Our guest for this conversation is Dr. Stacey Johnston from Jacksonville Baptist Health and she is joining us to shed some light on the collaborative and community-driven regional operation they are running in the five counties of their jurisdiction. We hear about the measures that are being put in place such as a drive-through testing center and telemedicine consultations. Dr. Johnston also sketches out the project from an operations standpoint, talking about how they are managing communications between all the moving pieces and keeping everybody in the loop from one day to another. We also hear about the protocol that they have organized from the moment of testing to assessing the results, informing the patient and finally on to treatment. What Dr. Johnston and her team have managed in terms of quick scaling and getting all willing hands involved is astounding, so tune in to hear the details. 

Key Points From This Episode:

• Different measures Baptist Health is taking to set up a support community for COVID-19.
• Daily calls Dr. Johnston participates in with neighboring hospitals, facilities, and physicians.
• Measures such as a drive-through testing center and telemedicine screenings put in place.
• A shortage of informatics nurses due to early exposure which Baptist nurses are alleviating.
• Locations in different counties the testing center will service and how results will be studied.
• Distributions of teams, volunteers and technologies; how Baptist is processing requests.
• Daily conference calls and working from home: measures to keep afloat of the operation.
• How the teams are using and updating screens to keep everybody in the loop.
• What the situation looks like to coastal communities specifically: post-cruiser self quarantines.