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Tomorrow’s meeting:
Dr. Doug MacQueen, Medical Director, Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and the Infection Prevention Program
“Treating COVID-19 in the Cayuga Health System”
Join the Zoom Meeting March 10, 2021
Newsletter Reporter: Kelly Buck | Photos: Photos | Editor: Ted Schiele This Wednesday marks one year since I moved my job home. Looking back, I guess there were signs: A co-worker at the Health Department had a sister in Wuhan who was pregnant, and as of mid-February 2020 she hadn’t left her apartment in almost six weeks. I built the department’s first Coronavirus web page in early February. The first press conference ever held at our offices was on March 9. At the next one, the evening of Friday March 13, Dr. Brown announced that the ICSD schools would not open on Monday. Then on Tuesday the 17th just after noon, I packed up my laptop and a steno pad and headed home. That laptop has been back to the office just twice in the months since. Last week, one of my regular podcasts posted an episode titled, “It’s been a year,” and as I listened to it I became unexpectedly emotional. It put me back in the Health Department offices of March 17, 2020, in a way that, among the hours of listening and reading I’ve done around this anniversary, nothing else had done. The unique aspect of this particular 12-month review was that it started with the fires in Australia, and the impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate — “normal” events. Starting in Wuhan, then moving to Italy is a gradual approach. “It’s been a year” set up the stark contrast in my life marked by March 16 (normal) and 17 (upside down), and I could feel it in my gut. HOW do you get to Ithaca Rotary? Practice! At least that’s what V.P. Mary Kane was thinking as she took the virtual podium last week in President Geoff’s absence. To warm herself up and get a lay of the land, she took the smart step of engaging the audience, and asked the friendly faces on the Zoom screen to finish the sentence, “I’ll know it’s spring when …” Rotarians chimed in with a full palette of responses: when flowers come up, when I can go camping, when we shave off COVID beards. There was hanging up skis, hearing robins sing, and, from Frank Towner, when the sheep get sheared! The 4-Way Test was recited by Gertrude Noden, Joe Cassaniti, Heidi Goldstein and Ann Coyne. Steve Johnson’s Thought for The Day was two quotes from FDR: “Do something. If it works, do more. If not, do something else.”
“People acting together as a group can accomplish things which no individual acting alone could ever hope to bring about.” The second one reminded Steve of Rotary, and all we do around the world. Guests were introduced; Kathryn Mapes was visiting from the waning Lansing-Ithaca Rotary Club.
We had a double-shot for our New Member Moment last week; Stamie Despo and Doug Schmidt. Stamie moved to Ithaca in spring 2020, just as COVID was hitting. She tapped into Rotary through Aly Evans, who became her sponsor. Stamie and Aly have never met in person, just on Zoom meetings. Stamie grew up in a military household and as a child lived abroad in Germany. She is of Greek descent and shared pictures of her family. She most recently lived in Charlotte, N.C. before coming to Ithaca last year. Heidi Goldstein sponsored Doug. He’s an avid big golfer and fisherman, enjoying trips to Alaska with his father every year for big game fishing. Doug was born in Minnesota, raised in South Dakota, and moved to the Philadelphia area when he was 23. He is a business account specialist with CFCU and lives in Campbell, NY, so Zoom meetings are working well for him! (Wait! Didn’t Dale Johnson grow up in the cottage cheese capital of Campbell, NY? Maybe Doug and Dale have some spine-curdling stories they could tell!) Welcome Stamie and Doug, and thank you for joining our Club! As Happy Dollars were being collected, VP Mary reported that the Club is seeking ways to raise money for this year’s Community Grants program. LAFF is the major contributor to our annual grants, and without a show last fall the program had no income. Please jump in with your fundraising ideas! Donations to Community Grants are also most welcome. The Dozen Dinner Draw got a great write-up in last week’s Tompkins Weekly! Many thanks to Sherrie Negrea and the Club’s communications team for getting the word out to local media. Here is a link to the article online. And just as an aside, I'd like to remind our Rotarians that you raised $15,000 in just a few short months during a global pandemic, on top of purchasing and donating just about all of the prizes! Fifteen thousand happy dollars. It knocks me over every time I think about it. You are truly amazing!
Steve Savage introduced the meeting’s speaker, our own John Turner, Vice President of PR at Cayuga Medical Center (CMC). He spoke to us about “Marketing in a Global Pandemic.” The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Tompkins County on March 14, 2020. As the virus swept across the country and around the world, NYS asked hospitals to stop elective surgeries. As the shutdown continued, John determined there was no point in marketing clinical services when they weren’t being offered, so he shifted his staff’s focus and redeployed the marketing team to become CMC’s media content hub. They built collaborative partnerships with key stakeholders, community organizations and businesses, and local and national media outlets. It was crucial that these collaborative partners worked closely to deliver a consistent message. John was the sole point of contact to ensure that accurate information was shared. CMC’s marketing team was regularly contacted for any and all information available about how they were handling the crisis: what PPE was available, how many beds were open, how many COVID-19 cases and deaths were there in Tompkins County, does CMC have any ventilators, number of COVID patients hospitalized, and more. The team shot video from inside the hospital to share with the media since no one was allowed to come into the buildings. This was well received and greatly appreciated. In April 2020, we all watched as the buses pulled out of Ithaca, loaded with doctors and nurses headed to New York City to help in the overloaded hospitals there. A number did become infected with the virus, but this was a huge source of pride for our community. Press releases were issued almost daily to over 100 news outlets, and the team closely tracked the results. CMC saw a marked increase in earned media, and were pleased with the coverage nationwide. John reported that everyone came together, and that their COVID-19 response has greatly increased the positive ratings of CMC. John expressed his pride in his team, adding “Our health system truly supported our community. We received so much support and so many donations.”
Visiting Rotarians: Kathryn Mapes, Ithaca Lansing
Students: None
Workers:
• Thought for the Day, Steve Johnson
• Introductions, Rotary hosts introduced their guests
Zoom Manager:
Bulletin Reporter: Kelly Buck
Photographer: Mike Brown
Bulletin Editor: Ted Schiele
Club Service Facilitators, Beverly Baker & June Losurdo
Sunshine Chair, Kellyann O’Mara
March 17, 2021
Dr. Doug MacQueen, Medical Director, Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and the Infection Prevention Program
“Treating COVID-19 in the Cayuga Health System”
Join the Zoom Meeting
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