Remote Teamwork During COVID-19 One of the building blocks of our culture at Saving Sight is strong, healthy teams. We believe that teams that act with great trust, accountability, and a passion for a mission can achieve great things. During COVID-19, our team-based culture was put to the test. We no longer shared workspaces or the opportunity for a quick hallway discussion. Recognizing early on that our new normal could potentially leave us less connected, our Human Resources team and others throughout the organization prioritized new opportunities for virtual connection. This new type of connection took on many forms, including Zoom happy hours, mission moments at staff meetings, virtual live stream hangouts with the recipients of our programs, and recognizing our teammates still in the office as essential on-site staff. Together, we offered each other support and encouragement to stay focused on the mission of helping others during the most challenging times.
Responding to a World Pandemic in 2020 When the world went on lockdown due to COVID-19 in March 2020, business as usual was changed for millions of healthcare workers, patients, and communities around the world. Like everyone, Saving Sight was deeply impacted and operations came to a near halt for weeks. On March 17, like many other employers in the U.S., Saving Sight sent most of its staff home to work. Some essential staff members needed to remain in the office, like our laboratory team. Other essential staff, like our recovery team, still needed to travel into hospitals to perform their work. The remainder of our staff learned to work virtually, quickly replicating office set ups at home and finding creative ways to connect as a team. We focused all of our attention on two areas: (1) making sure we could serve patients in a safe way (2) ensuring the safety of our staff. Immediately, Saving Sight implemented regulations from the FDA and EBAA to screen for and rule out any potential donor cases with COVID-19 or suspected exposure to the virus. We continued to meet the demand of our corneal transplant physicians and their patients, ensuring tissue safety and contactless delivery prior to surgery. In order to protect our essential in-office staff, we instituted daily health checks, social distancing measures, and mandatory N95 masking when social distancing could not be achieved. Because we care so deeply for our mission and the wellbeing of our teammates, we took many additional precautions to avoid in-office exposures, including installing plexiglass barriers and regular disinfecting of surfaces. While 2020 was a year that challenged us all and our conventional ways of working, Saving Sight is proud to have continued to meet the needs of the communities we serve while keeping our team safe.
Impact Report- 2020
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