Selected Podcast
Staying Safe During COVID-19 Pandemic as California Opens
Pete Delgado updates on how SVMHS has prepared in case of a second wave of COVID-19 and how to stay safe as California opens.
Featuring:
During his tenure at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, Pete has expanded access to care, greatly increasing the services available to all members of the community regardless of their ability to pay. He is passionate about patient safety, quality clinical outcomes, exceptional patient experience, and partnering with patients and their families to achieve an improved quality of life. This dedication to quality has been recognized by national hospital quality organizations such as Healthgrades, Leapfrog, and The Joint Commission.
Pete was also a founding member of the National Forum for Latino Healthcare Executives (NFLHE) – a national organization increasing the representation of Latinos at the executive level of hospitals across the country. Pete has held board positions on the Hospital Association of Southern California, California Health Care Safety Net Institute, California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, and currently California’s District Hospital Leadership Forum, California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (CAHHS), Hospital Council of Northern & Central California and BETA Healthcare Group. The Hispanic Business magazine recognized Pete as one of the Top 100 Influential People of 2009.
Delgado received his Master of Science in Hospital Administration from Texas Women’s University, Houston, Texas, and his Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration from University of Houston / CLC. Houston, Texas. He has also participated in two senior executive programs at Stanford University and Harvard University respectively.
Pete Delgado
Pete Delgado is President and CEO of Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, where he is responsible for directing the leadership and operations of an integrated network of health care programs, services and facilities. The Healthcare System encompasses an acute care public district hospital licensed for 263 beds, 12 urgent care clinics, a group of primary care and specialty physician practices with 135 practitioners and joint venture ownership of Aspire Health Plan. Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System employs more than 2,400 people and its medical staff includes 331 board-certified physicians.During his tenure at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, Pete has expanded access to care, greatly increasing the services available to all members of the community regardless of their ability to pay. He is passionate about patient safety, quality clinical outcomes, exceptional patient experience, and partnering with patients and their families to achieve an improved quality of life. This dedication to quality has been recognized by national hospital quality organizations such as Healthgrades, Leapfrog, and The Joint Commission.
Pete was also a founding member of the National Forum for Latino Healthcare Executives (NFLHE) – a national organization increasing the representation of Latinos at the executive level of hospitals across the country. Pete has held board positions on the Hospital Association of Southern California, California Health Care Safety Net Institute, California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, and currently California’s District Hospital Leadership Forum, California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (CAHHS), Hospital Council of Northern & Central California and BETA Healthcare Group. The Hispanic Business magazine recognized Pete as one of the Top 100 Influential People of 2009.
Delgado received his Master of Science in Hospital Administration from Texas Women’s University, Houston, Texas, and his Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration from University of Houston / CLC. Houston, Texas. He has also participated in two senior executive programs at Stanford University and Harvard University respectively.
Transcription:
Scott Webb (Host): There’s never a bad time to speak with our guest today but in light of much of our country reopening after the COVID-19 lockdown and the fact that we are seeing a spike in positive cases, I’m pleased to be joined today by Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System’s CEO, Pete Delgado. This is Ask the Experts, the podcast from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I’m Scott Webb. Pete, so great to talk to you again. For some time California was flattening the curve, however now that the state has reopened, we’re seeing more and more positive cases throughout the state. In Monterey County, specifically Salinas and in South Monterey County, so why do you think this is happening and does it worry you?
Pete Delgado, CEO (Guest): Yes, it does worry me, very much so. The number of COVID patients and seen in the hospital, is not decreasing. In fact, it’s increasing. This may not be a common knowledge, but the number of cases double every 22 days. So, for example, we’re a little bit over 1000 right now; in 22 days, we expect that number to double. And there’s a downstream of the infected patients, about 10% of the infected patients will wind up in a hospital. I mean they are serious right? And these are national averages by the way. Ten percent of those that are admitted have a high probability of not making it.
So, the numbers both me. It really scares me when the people are not following guidelines of masking, social distance. They are not taking it as serious as they should be. It’s especially concerning now that Monterey County has moved into third stage, stage three of the state’s reopening plan. Like all things in life, it can be easy to get complacent and let our guard down. Only on the important safety measures as we return to our previous routines, we can’t afford to do that with COVID-19. So, yes, people need to take this very seriously. They need to wear masks, wash their hands, practice social distancing. We’re not seeing enough taking care of these actions right now. We need to do more.
Host: Who is most at risk and what’s the hospital doing in terms of outreach?
Pete: Everyone has some level of risk. We’re seeing this affect people of all ages. Now of course, there are some people that are higher risk, those that have underlying health conditions, the elderly, people of color are also disproportionately affected. If you fall into one of these groups, you need to be aware of this fact and people should be following these preventive measures. We’ve really taken an outreach seriously here. Salinas is the salad bowl of the world. And every year, we get about 50 to 75,000 people come from all over the world to help harvest the crops here. This is a vulnerable population that is at high risk for exposure to transmission of COVID-19 mainly because of their working conditions and their living conditions as well.
In response, our nurses have really stepped up to provide education on ways that the ag worker can stay safe at work and at home. We currently have outreach – we went to 15 companies already and we’ve educated over 10,000 ag workers. Our nurses are still in much demand and still at it. They’ve actually conducted educational sessions in the fields. It’s amazing the difference that they are making with these workers. We’re also working with the county health department to focus on nursing homes. They are also a high risk segment of our population, this vulnerable population. We are helping them facilitate testing and treatment as needed. That includes staff workers as well as the patients.
Host: Your people on the frontlines, the nurses on the frontlines, going out into the fields, educating the ag workers is really amazing work Pete and I know how proud you are of everybody that works for you. And medical experts are saying there is going to be a second wave of coronavirus in a few months, most likely during flu season, so how is Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and the clinics preparing for what could be a very difficult few months?
Pete: Well first of all, I want to take this opportunity to brag about our staff. I’m so proud of our healthcare heroes. They are very much engaged, prepared and on top of their game. In response to the surge question, we are probably still on the first wave as far as preparing. And it’s working so we’ll keep doing what we think is successful in addressing the current case volumes. Part of that has been planning as well for a potential surge as we have been doing all of that all along the way and we will continue doing that. I feel confident that we’re pretty much prepared. Our model has always been since March, let’s not panic, let’s be prepared, be prepared. It’s still my guidance to everyone today.
Host: I’m seeing people out and about as I know you are. And many of them are following safety guidelines that you’ve already referenced, keeping their distance, wearing masks, so on. However, others are not. So, what would you like to say Pete, to those individuals?
Pete: Well I’ve always described the COVID-19 as a mean, sneaky, nasty virus that sometimes can be deadly. Our frontline caregivers can personally attest to the seriousness and the serious impact it has had on patients and family members, but it can be outsmarted just by being diligent. Social distancing, wearing a mask in public, washing your hands often and staying at home often. It can be outsmarted. As I mentioned earlier, the COVID-19 is not something that just affects the elderly and those with underlying conditions. Getting COVID-19 can affect people of all ages and lead to serious medical complications even death. I can’t stress this enough. Do not let your guard down. Wash your hands often, stay inside as much as possible and when you do go out; wear a mask, practice social distancing. It's simple advice but it is absolutely critical.
Host: Do you think visitor restrictions could be tightened more to ensure the safety of staff and patients?
Pete: We take safety very seriously. In April, we put our current visitor restrictions in place, and they are still working well. We plan to continue what we have in place but we’re always evaluating our policies and our practices, keeping an eye on the patient’s experience all the way. I know that restricting visitors is tough on patients and their loved ones. Our patient experience theme is focused on making that situation as comfortable as possible. For example, we purchased 50 iPads to allow patients to connect with their loved ones and friends. This has been something that many of our patients have found very valuable to keep a close contact. We’ve had patients in their 90s using this technology pretty easily. Keeping your family connections going is really important for the healing process here.
Host: I can tell from talking to you about this that you and your team has learned a lot from this pandemic. So, let’s go through some of those things.
Pete: For one thing, it’s very clear to me that we have some amazing physicians and hospital leaders. Time after time, I’ve witnessed motivated doctors and hospital leaders coming together to redesign old clinical processes on the fly, keeping safety front and center. So, the video, things like that have been so helpful for the patients and our physicians as well. Everyone seems to be upping their game. We’re trying to adapt our norms towards a new norm. We’re asking our leaders to reboot, reevaluate, reimagine all our patient care processes with a focus of benefitting our patients and our community. They came through – our leaders have come through time after time. All the benefits of our patients and our community are being realized by these folks.
Host: And what’s amazing is that you know you have that peace of mind to know that whatever you ask of the entire system of all of your team members, you know that they are going to do it. You know that they are going to get to work and execute it which must be a great comfort for you, right?
Pete: That’s right.
Host: So, Pete, as we wrap up here today, always great to talk with you. Is there anything else you’d like to share with the community about what’s happening right now and what you’re seeing in the near future?
Pete: I’m sure you know what I’m going to say. Please continue to take the risk of COVID seriously. COVID-19, seriously. And help educate your friends, your family members, your neighbors and others about how to keep – how to help stop this spread. Let’s outsmart this virus by wearing masks in public, washing your hands often, staying at home as much as possible and practicing good social distancing. We also encourage everyone to keep up with the regular updates and guidance from our trusted sources like the Monterey County Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control. Please, be careful and be well. We’ll get through this together.
Host: Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. And well said, great advice and the most important thing is to know that if you need to go to the hospital, then you don’t have to worry that everybody at the hospital is there waiting for you between drive up testing, almost instantaneous results, full PPE, a great plan, well executed, amazing team members and you at the top Pete. So, great to talk with you and as you said, stay well.
For more information on the Coronavirus, please visit www.svmh.com/coronavirus. And we hop you found this podcast to be helpful and informative. This is Ask the Experts a podcast from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I’m Scott Webb. Stay well and we’ll talk again next time.
Scott Webb (Host): There’s never a bad time to speak with our guest today but in light of much of our country reopening after the COVID-19 lockdown and the fact that we are seeing a spike in positive cases, I’m pleased to be joined today by Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System’s CEO, Pete Delgado. This is Ask the Experts, the podcast from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I’m Scott Webb. Pete, so great to talk to you again. For some time California was flattening the curve, however now that the state has reopened, we’re seeing more and more positive cases throughout the state. In Monterey County, specifically Salinas and in South Monterey County, so why do you think this is happening and does it worry you?
Pete Delgado, CEO (Guest): Yes, it does worry me, very much so. The number of COVID patients and seen in the hospital, is not decreasing. In fact, it’s increasing. This may not be a common knowledge, but the number of cases double every 22 days. So, for example, we’re a little bit over 1000 right now; in 22 days, we expect that number to double. And there’s a downstream of the infected patients, about 10% of the infected patients will wind up in a hospital. I mean they are serious right? And these are national averages by the way. Ten percent of those that are admitted have a high probability of not making it.
So, the numbers both me. It really scares me when the people are not following guidelines of masking, social distance. They are not taking it as serious as they should be. It’s especially concerning now that Monterey County has moved into third stage, stage three of the state’s reopening plan. Like all things in life, it can be easy to get complacent and let our guard down. Only on the important safety measures as we return to our previous routines, we can’t afford to do that with COVID-19. So, yes, people need to take this very seriously. They need to wear masks, wash their hands, practice social distancing. We’re not seeing enough taking care of these actions right now. We need to do more.
Host: Who is most at risk and what’s the hospital doing in terms of outreach?
Pete: Everyone has some level of risk. We’re seeing this affect people of all ages. Now of course, there are some people that are higher risk, those that have underlying health conditions, the elderly, people of color are also disproportionately affected. If you fall into one of these groups, you need to be aware of this fact and people should be following these preventive measures. We’ve really taken an outreach seriously here. Salinas is the salad bowl of the world. And every year, we get about 50 to 75,000 people come from all over the world to help harvest the crops here. This is a vulnerable population that is at high risk for exposure to transmission of COVID-19 mainly because of their working conditions and their living conditions as well.
In response, our nurses have really stepped up to provide education on ways that the ag worker can stay safe at work and at home. We currently have outreach – we went to 15 companies already and we’ve educated over 10,000 ag workers. Our nurses are still in much demand and still at it. They’ve actually conducted educational sessions in the fields. It’s amazing the difference that they are making with these workers. We’re also working with the county health department to focus on nursing homes. They are also a high risk segment of our population, this vulnerable population. We are helping them facilitate testing and treatment as needed. That includes staff workers as well as the patients.
Host: Your people on the frontlines, the nurses on the frontlines, going out into the fields, educating the ag workers is really amazing work Pete and I know how proud you are of everybody that works for you. And medical experts are saying there is going to be a second wave of coronavirus in a few months, most likely during flu season, so how is Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and the clinics preparing for what could be a very difficult few months?
Pete: Well first of all, I want to take this opportunity to brag about our staff. I’m so proud of our healthcare heroes. They are very much engaged, prepared and on top of their game. In response to the surge question, we are probably still on the first wave as far as preparing. And it’s working so we’ll keep doing what we think is successful in addressing the current case volumes. Part of that has been planning as well for a potential surge as we have been doing all of that all along the way and we will continue doing that. I feel confident that we’re pretty much prepared. Our model has always been since March, let’s not panic, let’s be prepared, be prepared. It’s still my guidance to everyone today.
Host: I’m seeing people out and about as I know you are. And many of them are following safety guidelines that you’ve already referenced, keeping their distance, wearing masks, so on. However, others are not. So, what would you like to say Pete, to those individuals?
Pete: Well I’ve always described the COVID-19 as a mean, sneaky, nasty virus that sometimes can be deadly. Our frontline caregivers can personally attest to the seriousness and the serious impact it has had on patients and family members, but it can be outsmarted just by being diligent. Social distancing, wearing a mask in public, washing your hands often and staying at home often. It can be outsmarted. As I mentioned earlier, the COVID-19 is not something that just affects the elderly and those with underlying conditions. Getting COVID-19 can affect people of all ages and lead to serious medical complications even death. I can’t stress this enough. Do not let your guard down. Wash your hands often, stay inside as much as possible and when you do go out; wear a mask, practice social distancing. It's simple advice but it is absolutely critical.
Host: Do you think visitor restrictions could be tightened more to ensure the safety of staff and patients?
Pete: We take safety very seriously. In April, we put our current visitor restrictions in place, and they are still working well. We plan to continue what we have in place but we’re always evaluating our policies and our practices, keeping an eye on the patient’s experience all the way. I know that restricting visitors is tough on patients and their loved ones. Our patient experience theme is focused on making that situation as comfortable as possible. For example, we purchased 50 iPads to allow patients to connect with their loved ones and friends. This has been something that many of our patients have found very valuable to keep a close contact. We’ve had patients in their 90s using this technology pretty easily. Keeping your family connections going is really important for the healing process here.
Host: I can tell from talking to you about this that you and your team has learned a lot from this pandemic. So, let’s go through some of those things.
Pete: For one thing, it’s very clear to me that we have some amazing physicians and hospital leaders. Time after time, I’ve witnessed motivated doctors and hospital leaders coming together to redesign old clinical processes on the fly, keeping safety front and center. So, the video, things like that have been so helpful for the patients and our physicians as well. Everyone seems to be upping their game. We’re trying to adapt our norms towards a new norm. We’re asking our leaders to reboot, reevaluate, reimagine all our patient care processes with a focus of benefitting our patients and our community. They came through – our leaders have come through time after time. All the benefits of our patients and our community are being realized by these folks.
Host: And what’s amazing is that you know you have that peace of mind to know that whatever you ask of the entire system of all of your team members, you know that they are going to do it. You know that they are going to get to work and execute it which must be a great comfort for you, right?
Pete: That’s right.
Host: So, Pete, as we wrap up here today, always great to talk with you. Is there anything else you’d like to share with the community about what’s happening right now and what you’re seeing in the near future?
Pete: I’m sure you know what I’m going to say. Please continue to take the risk of COVID seriously. COVID-19, seriously. And help educate your friends, your family members, your neighbors and others about how to keep – how to help stop this spread. Let’s outsmart this virus by wearing masks in public, washing your hands often, staying at home as much as possible and practicing good social distancing. We also encourage everyone to keep up with the regular updates and guidance from our trusted sources like the Monterey County Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control. Please, be careful and be well. We’ll get through this together.
Host: Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. And well said, great advice and the most important thing is to know that if you need to go to the hospital, then you don’t have to worry that everybody at the hospital is there waiting for you between drive up testing, almost instantaneous results, full PPE, a great plan, well executed, amazing team members and you at the top Pete. So, great to talk with you and as you said, stay well.
For more information on the Coronavirus, please visit www.svmh.com/coronavirus. And we hop you found this podcast to be helpful and informative. This is Ask the Experts a podcast from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I’m Scott Webb. Stay well and we’ll talk again next time.