Selected Podcast
A Conversation with Ruth Martynowicz, Chief Operating Officer, Trinity Health at Home
Ruth Martynowicz, Chief Operating Officer at Trinity Health at Home, leads a reflective discussion on how COVID-19 has affected her ministry.
Featuring:
Ruth Martynowicz, RN
Ruth Martynowicz, RN is Chief Operating Officer, Trinity Health at Home. Transcription:
Stephen S: Hello. My name is Steve Surprenant, and I serve Trinity Health as the Vice President for Ministry Formation at the system level. And welcome to our podcast today. I'd like to invite my guests for today's podcast to introduce herself now.
Ruth M: Hi. My name is Ruth Martynowicz. And I serve Trinity as the Chief Operating Officer for Trinity Health At Home.
Stephen S: Hi, Ruth, and thanks for joining us today. You know, I wanted to sort of I begin by asking you a little bit, maybe about your background. You know, what brought you to serve Trinity Health in the ministry you're in today?
Ruth M: Well, I've been in home care 30 plus years. And I most recently, as of July of 2020, came on board as the interim chief operating officer for Trinity Health At Home and Mercy Home Health. So prior to that, I was the Vice President of Operations for a home care in the Philadelphia area called Mercy Home Health and pretty large organization. And most recently in this past year, I moved from the interim to the permanent COO job. And we've integrated, as much as you can in one year, two very large home care organizations. And as of July 1st of this year, we are officially one organization, Trinity Health At Home.
Stephen S: And can you give our listeners a sense of just how large Trinity Health At Home is?
Ruth M: Oh, geez. That is a great question. We currently have a census of over 9,000 patients. We're both a home care and a hospice organization. Mercy Home Health had about 3,500. Trinity Health At Home had the remaining census, so we're probably pretty close to being one of the largest home care organizations in the nation.
Stephen S: Wow. And serving our ministry in multiple locations around the country, I imagine.
Ruth M: We go from the east coast to the west coast. We go as far south as Florida and as far north as New England; Columbus, Ohio; Michigan; Iowa; Fresno, California. Yes, we cover the gamut and really remarkable is that we did this virtually over the past year.
Stephen S: Exactly. And that's a great segue into talking a little bit about this pandemic that we've all been experiencing for the last, gee, 18 months now. It seems like it's never going to end, but, you know, as you think about your role with Trinity Health At Home, and you know that in light of this COVID-19 pandemic that we've been living through, I'm wondering if you could share a little bit about your experience in your role as we've worked through, you know, living with and addressing the health concerns that the pandemic has brought to the fore.
Ruth M: Well, it's more than just my role. It's the team. What did the team go through in the past year? So as everyone knows more than a year ago, we were hit with the COVID-19 worldwide and no living healthcare worker has experienced anything like this before. I mean, 1918 was the last pandemic. And I would say in the very beginning of this pandemic was confusion, fear, anxiety. You know, the messages were not clear or the messages would change from one week to another week. So in the early months, our patients, our clinicians, they were really greatly affected. And, you know, as my job, you know, it was trying to keep the agency going, trying to take care of our patients and trying to take care of our staff.
And as everyone knows, the very beginning, PPE was really critically short supply. You know, we never had to use the amount of PPE, personal protective equipment, that we had to use at the time. And the N95 became like a gold, you know, trying to find it. So we were making sure that we had everything that we needed for the staff. And it was almost like we had to reeducate our clinicians on the frontline. And so we tapped on our education department and they really came to the rescue. They did videos. They actually went one-on-one, met people in the field to help them rehearse donning and doffing their PPE in the home care setting.
You know, it's a lot different in the home than it is in a hospital setting because the environment is not controlled. PPE storage that had to be reused at the time had to be put in brown paper bags and kept in their trunks. It was certainly a challenge. And the N95s for the first time ever, we were looking at appropriate use with CDC guidance, had to be reused and refurbished.
Some of our clinicians actually contracted COVID-19 in taking care of their patients. Our patients census was very high in COVID-19 and they were afraid. They were afraid of staff bringing in COVID. So, you know, we managed to get through this. The compassion and the dedication that they demonstrated was really phenomenal in making sure that our patients were taken care of and, you know, I have to give credit to the management team as they really stepped up and supported their staff.
One person in particular, I want to just recognize, this is in the SEPA area. Because the inventory of supply was so critical, she took on the inventory and personally delivered every week the PPE that needed to be done. And she was recently recognized by the Sons of the American Revolution for her acts of heroism in this position, making sure that our staff had what they needed. So, I know I rambled on there for a little bit, Steve, but it was really a phenomenal effort by everyone.
Stephen S: And thank you for sharing. It was not rambling at all. I think it gave us some really fascinating insights into how different the various aspects of our ministry are across Trinity Health. I think, you know, a lot of people tend to think of us as an acute care provider. But I think that's why, you know, the home care experience is really so important. I was really kind of amazed by your statement that there was no living healthcare worker that had ever lived through a pandemic before. And I had never heard that expressed that way since the last one was 1918.
You know, but I think that combined with what sounds like in your sharing Trinity Health At Home's commitment to so many of our core values, right? Our commitment to reverence and the way that we approached patients in their homes. There certainly was the focus on safety, right? Because of keeping our colleagues safe and keeping the people we serve safe and their families as well. There was also stewardship, you know. And Trinity Health At Home, like so many other healthcare organizations had to struggle to find the correct amount of personal protective equipment and how difficult that was initially and then as you said how do we refurbish vital things like N 95 masks.
I mean, so much learning, and I can really appreciate, and I'm sure our listeners can too, that this really was a team effort that so many people came to the fore to step up to the plate. And I'm glad that you highlighted your home health educators because they must've played a really pivotal role in making sure that everybody knew what to do and could build the confidence that people wanted in the services they were getting in their home.
Ruth M: Absolutely.
Stephen S: As you, you know, kind of reflect on this experience, what are the Leadership takeaways for you as a leader? Any new insights that you gained about leadership or ideas about how to improve in the future, if that's possible?
Ruth M: Well, you know, you mentioned our core values and not only did we demonstrate reverence and safety and stewardship, I think integrity was one of the paramount values. We were faithful to who we say we are. Certainly, there was a lot of gnashing of teeth and a lot of anxiety. So I think, you know, as a leader, and all of our leaders really stepped up to the plate, had to be supportive of our clinicians. We had to listen to them. We had to support them. They really went through a lot. You know, the acute care side, certainly with the emergency room and the intensive care room and, you know, people talk about post-traumatic stress syndrome. It was seen in the home care realm as well. And I think what our leaders tried to do was to provide that support, provide that healing presence.
And, unfortunately, I don't think it's over yet as much as we'd like to think the end is near. As you know, you know, the COVID variant is expanding and we're seeing increases across the country. So, you know, we really have to pray that we do increase our vaccination rates and that we do see a better herd immunity because unfortunately we might have to go through this again if things keep going on the trajectory that they're on.
Stephen S: Yeah. And so the lessons learned are going to probably be lessons that we're going to be reapplying again in the near future if we don't really get this thing under control. And thank you for calling out to the core value of integrity. I think that really does speak to our ministry as a whole across Trinity Health, along with the others that we highlighted.
So as you think about the next chapter, we know that the delta variant is taking over and seems to be spreading. We know we still have people that are unvaccinated. What do you see as next steps for Trinity Health At Home as we continue to fight this pandemic?
Ruth M: You know, Trinity put out a mandate just a short time ago and there's still remains a lot of fear and anxiety in some colleagues about receiving this vaccine. I do think leadership needs to support their colleagues. I think there should be dialogue with the colleagues. I do think whatever we can do to maybe support people that will move towards getting vaccinated, I think that's extremely important. I do think we need to sort of get ourselves ready with PPE, with the idea that the cases might start increasing. We certainly are seeing that in certain states. And not only do we need to support the frontline colleagues as a whole, leadership is also going through a lot of trauma and challenges to say the least in this new world. So as the senior leadership looks at this, we need to continue to support all of our leadership and employees across the board in these challenges.
Stephen S: Well, I hope that your words of wisdom will be heeded by those who listen to our podcast, you know, and that people will recognize the value of being vaccinated against this pandemic that has claimed so many lives in our country and worldwide and which continues to pose a threat to all of our health and safety.
So, Ruth, I just want to thank you for your time today and for reflecting a little bit around about COVID and really, I think for, you know, bringing to the front view for the rest of our colleagues in Trinity Health, the real important and critical and vital role that Trinity Health At Home through our home care services and our hospice services provides to so many people who are in need and who have the ability to receive this really very important care in their home setting without having to be taken somewhere else.
So thank you so much for your time and for your thoughts today. And on behalf of Trinity Health and our mission integration department, I'd like to thank Ruth for her time with us and wish you all the very best as we continue to work and to serve those who are most in need to serve those in the communities we serve and to be this transforming healing presence in the communities we serve.
My name is Steve Surprenant and thank you for listening today.
Stephen S: Hello. My name is Steve Surprenant, and I serve Trinity Health as the Vice President for Ministry Formation at the system level. And welcome to our podcast today. I'd like to invite my guests for today's podcast to introduce herself now.
Ruth M: Hi. My name is Ruth Martynowicz. And I serve Trinity as the Chief Operating Officer for Trinity Health At Home.
Stephen S: Hi, Ruth, and thanks for joining us today. You know, I wanted to sort of I begin by asking you a little bit, maybe about your background. You know, what brought you to serve Trinity Health in the ministry you're in today?
Ruth M: Well, I've been in home care 30 plus years. And I most recently, as of July of 2020, came on board as the interim chief operating officer for Trinity Health At Home and Mercy Home Health. So prior to that, I was the Vice President of Operations for a home care in the Philadelphia area called Mercy Home Health and pretty large organization. And most recently in this past year, I moved from the interim to the permanent COO job. And we've integrated, as much as you can in one year, two very large home care organizations. And as of July 1st of this year, we are officially one organization, Trinity Health At Home.
Stephen S: And can you give our listeners a sense of just how large Trinity Health At Home is?
Ruth M: Oh, geez. That is a great question. We currently have a census of over 9,000 patients. We're both a home care and a hospice organization. Mercy Home Health had about 3,500. Trinity Health At Home had the remaining census, so we're probably pretty close to being one of the largest home care organizations in the nation.
Stephen S: Wow. And serving our ministry in multiple locations around the country, I imagine.
Ruth M: We go from the east coast to the west coast. We go as far south as Florida and as far north as New England; Columbus, Ohio; Michigan; Iowa; Fresno, California. Yes, we cover the gamut and really remarkable is that we did this virtually over the past year.
Stephen S: Exactly. And that's a great segue into talking a little bit about this pandemic that we've all been experiencing for the last, gee, 18 months now. It seems like it's never going to end, but, you know, as you think about your role with Trinity Health At Home, and you know that in light of this COVID-19 pandemic that we've been living through, I'm wondering if you could share a little bit about your experience in your role as we've worked through, you know, living with and addressing the health concerns that the pandemic has brought to the fore.
Ruth M: Well, it's more than just my role. It's the team. What did the team go through in the past year? So as everyone knows more than a year ago, we were hit with the COVID-19 worldwide and no living healthcare worker has experienced anything like this before. I mean, 1918 was the last pandemic. And I would say in the very beginning of this pandemic was confusion, fear, anxiety. You know, the messages were not clear or the messages would change from one week to another week. So in the early months, our patients, our clinicians, they were really greatly affected. And, you know, as my job, you know, it was trying to keep the agency going, trying to take care of our patients and trying to take care of our staff.
And as everyone knows, the very beginning, PPE was really critically short supply. You know, we never had to use the amount of PPE, personal protective equipment, that we had to use at the time. And the N95 became like a gold, you know, trying to find it. So we were making sure that we had everything that we needed for the staff. And it was almost like we had to reeducate our clinicians on the frontline. And so we tapped on our education department and they really came to the rescue. They did videos. They actually went one-on-one, met people in the field to help them rehearse donning and doffing their PPE in the home care setting.
You know, it's a lot different in the home than it is in a hospital setting because the environment is not controlled. PPE storage that had to be reused at the time had to be put in brown paper bags and kept in their trunks. It was certainly a challenge. And the N95s for the first time ever, we were looking at appropriate use with CDC guidance, had to be reused and refurbished.
Some of our clinicians actually contracted COVID-19 in taking care of their patients. Our patients census was very high in COVID-19 and they were afraid. They were afraid of staff bringing in COVID. So, you know, we managed to get through this. The compassion and the dedication that they demonstrated was really phenomenal in making sure that our patients were taken care of and, you know, I have to give credit to the management team as they really stepped up and supported their staff.
One person in particular, I want to just recognize, this is in the SEPA area. Because the inventory of supply was so critical, she took on the inventory and personally delivered every week the PPE that needed to be done. And she was recently recognized by the Sons of the American Revolution for her acts of heroism in this position, making sure that our staff had what they needed. So, I know I rambled on there for a little bit, Steve, but it was really a phenomenal effort by everyone.
Stephen S: And thank you for sharing. It was not rambling at all. I think it gave us some really fascinating insights into how different the various aspects of our ministry are across Trinity Health. I think, you know, a lot of people tend to think of us as an acute care provider. But I think that's why, you know, the home care experience is really so important. I was really kind of amazed by your statement that there was no living healthcare worker that had ever lived through a pandemic before. And I had never heard that expressed that way since the last one was 1918.
You know, but I think that combined with what sounds like in your sharing Trinity Health At Home's commitment to so many of our core values, right? Our commitment to reverence and the way that we approached patients in their homes. There certainly was the focus on safety, right? Because of keeping our colleagues safe and keeping the people we serve safe and their families as well. There was also stewardship, you know. And Trinity Health At Home, like so many other healthcare organizations had to struggle to find the correct amount of personal protective equipment and how difficult that was initially and then as you said how do we refurbish vital things like N 95 masks.
I mean, so much learning, and I can really appreciate, and I'm sure our listeners can too, that this really was a team effort that so many people came to the fore to step up to the plate. And I'm glad that you highlighted your home health educators because they must've played a really pivotal role in making sure that everybody knew what to do and could build the confidence that people wanted in the services they were getting in their home.
Ruth M: Absolutely.
Stephen S: As you, you know, kind of reflect on this experience, what are the Leadership takeaways for you as a leader? Any new insights that you gained about leadership or ideas about how to improve in the future, if that's possible?
Ruth M: Well, you know, you mentioned our core values and not only did we demonstrate reverence and safety and stewardship, I think integrity was one of the paramount values. We were faithful to who we say we are. Certainly, there was a lot of gnashing of teeth and a lot of anxiety. So I think, you know, as a leader, and all of our leaders really stepped up to the plate, had to be supportive of our clinicians. We had to listen to them. We had to support them. They really went through a lot. You know, the acute care side, certainly with the emergency room and the intensive care room and, you know, people talk about post-traumatic stress syndrome. It was seen in the home care realm as well. And I think what our leaders tried to do was to provide that support, provide that healing presence.
And, unfortunately, I don't think it's over yet as much as we'd like to think the end is near. As you know, you know, the COVID variant is expanding and we're seeing increases across the country. So, you know, we really have to pray that we do increase our vaccination rates and that we do see a better herd immunity because unfortunately we might have to go through this again if things keep going on the trajectory that they're on.
Stephen S: Yeah. And so the lessons learned are going to probably be lessons that we're going to be reapplying again in the near future if we don't really get this thing under control. And thank you for calling out to the core value of integrity. I think that really does speak to our ministry as a whole across Trinity Health, along with the others that we highlighted.
So as you think about the next chapter, we know that the delta variant is taking over and seems to be spreading. We know we still have people that are unvaccinated. What do you see as next steps for Trinity Health At Home as we continue to fight this pandemic?
Ruth M: You know, Trinity put out a mandate just a short time ago and there's still remains a lot of fear and anxiety in some colleagues about receiving this vaccine. I do think leadership needs to support their colleagues. I think there should be dialogue with the colleagues. I do think whatever we can do to maybe support people that will move towards getting vaccinated, I think that's extremely important. I do think we need to sort of get ourselves ready with PPE, with the idea that the cases might start increasing. We certainly are seeing that in certain states. And not only do we need to support the frontline colleagues as a whole, leadership is also going through a lot of trauma and challenges to say the least in this new world. So as the senior leadership looks at this, we need to continue to support all of our leadership and employees across the board in these challenges.
Stephen S: Well, I hope that your words of wisdom will be heeded by those who listen to our podcast, you know, and that people will recognize the value of being vaccinated against this pandemic that has claimed so many lives in our country and worldwide and which continues to pose a threat to all of our health and safety.
So, Ruth, I just want to thank you for your time today and for reflecting a little bit around about COVID and really, I think for, you know, bringing to the front view for the rest of our colleagues in Trinity Health, the real important and critical and vital role that Trinity Health At Home through our home care services and our hospice services provides to so many people who are in need and who have the ability to receive this really very important care in their home setting without having to be taken somewhere else.
So thank you so much for your time and for your thoughts today. And on behalf of Trinity Health and our mission integration department, I'd like to thank Ruth for her time with us and wish you all the very best as we continue to work and to serve those who are most in need to serve those in the communities we serve and to be this transforming healing presence in the communities we serve.
My name is Steve Surprenant and thank you for listening today.