COVID Anniversary, Looking Back and Forward

Looking Back: 5 Years Since The Start of COVID-19

Learn how your community-owned hospital responded to COVID-19 and helped the country develop a ground level response to the pandemic.

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"The improbability was striking – that two patients in one critical care unit in a small, community hospital in a suburb of Seattle would both test positive for COVID-19. It was Feb. 28, 2020." – Francis X. Riedo, MD, The New York Times

Once again, we pause to observe a COVID-19 anniversary, five years since the SARS-CoV-2 virus arrived in our Kirkland hospital. On that day, positive tests from two hospital patients who had no recent travel history confirmed for the nation that this illness was now local and widespread.

While anniversaries are typically cause for celebration, this milepost invites us to turn our gaze toward the future. For nearly 15 years, EvergreenHealth has invested in training a deep bench of more than 100 leaders, staff members and physicians at FEMA's Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama. That training was foundational to our COVID-19 response and other challenging events.

Five years later, a frequent question I am asked is whether we are prepared for the next pandemic. I strongly believe that what we have learned as an organization and as an industry during the COVID-19 pandemic will benefit us in future events. That said, as public health priorities at the local, state, and national levels continue to evolve, we have a responsibility at EvergreenHealth to never forget the successes and opportunities of the past five years, and continue to advance our emergency preparedness efforts.

Serving the healthcare needs of our community is our sole purpose as a public hospital district. We remain committed to this goal—always renewing our organizational dedication to serving the people of our community, no matter what the future holds.

Read Dr. Palazzo's 2024 post, "'Are You Sitting Down?' 4 Years with COVID"