Navigating the “Perfect Storm”: Leading with a commitment to human experience

Abstract

As was known even prior to the pressures placed on us by the pandemic, what lied just beneath the surface of our work in healthcare was clear. A healthcare workforce feeling overworked and overwhelmed. Communities seeing and feeling the impact of inequities and disparities in care. Patients and care partners working diligently to elevate what matters to them. A tearing at the social fabric that has led to incivility and even mortal violence. And healthcare systems laboring to maintain financial viability in the face of global economic uncertainties. We knew the opportunities then, and we cannot escape them now. This is a perfect storm for healthcare, one that I know weighs on and buffets all who are engaged in and served by the healthcare ecosystem. But amid this turbulent reality, I believe there is hope, a space for optimism and a solid foundation on which we can and must build. It comes in our commitment to the human experience.