I was able to spend some time this morning with my good friend Michael Rock on FaceTime over coffee. Mike is an emergency physician on the front-line of the pandemic and also oversees clinical physician operations at a number of hospitals. I was very curious to see how his world was being impacted by Covid-19. Amongst all the very real challenges that you read about, he shared some snippets of caring with me that touched me greatly.

  • Construction companies have shown up at the hospital with N95 masks that they use for sanding, giving them to the doctors/nurses knowing they need them more.
  • Restaurants that have seen business evaporate have cooked meals and brought them to the hospital so that healthcare professionals can easily access a meal.
  • Companies that set up tents for events and are now idle have volunteered to come and set up tents outside so they can get more space to operate.

These are the kinds of stories we need to hear in times like this. People focused on helping those around them.

As we were talking he shared some areas where technology experts may be able to help by using digital tools instead of protective equipment to provide service. We all should seek out areas that we can help those around us in the coming weeks and months.