Your Local Guide to Better Living
HEALTH
Summer 2020
INSIDE This Issue
MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY ........ 12 Continuing speech-language therapy virtually
ARIZONA ONCOLOGY ......... 15 Don’t skip at-home cancer screanings
LA LOMA VILLAGE ............. 20 Life plan communities offer vibrant lifestyle
WELLNESS Special Supplement to The Glendale Star and Peoria Times
Abrazo staff is protective of staff, patients BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Since the pandemic hit, every month has been ever changing, and Abrazo CEO Brian Elisco can attest to that. One thing that has remained the same is the dedication of his staff, or as he calls them, the health care heroes. “I feel like the hospital system has done a really good job continuing to react to it,” said Elisco, who graduated from Chaparral High School in Scottsdale. “We were setting up surge plans very early into the pandemic. We’re trying to be protective of our staff and the community we serve. The team is beyond fantastic and professional and has been pointed in the right direction from the beginning to make sure we’re focused on health care workers first and foremost. We’ve been using that as a guiding light to make decisions. I can look back in good faith and see we’ve done that.” Locally, at Abrazo’s Arrowhead Campus in Glendale, a segregated unit is dedicated to the COVID-19 patients. However, all hospitals in the Abrazo system have treated and continue to treat the COVID population. The hospitals and medical centers follow similar protocols for patient and health care worker safety, and share best practices. “The ICU nurses have been incredible, as have all of our nurses,” he said. “One of the things we really learned going through—and it was really amplified going through this COVID response—was how big of a team effort the health care
Abrazo Arrowhead campus has a segregated unit that is dedicated to the COVID-19 patients. However, all Abrazo hospitals in the system have treated and continue to treat COVID-19 patients. (Submitted photo)
effort is. “The intensive care and telemetry nurses have been true heroes, as have the environmental services and housekeeping. They’ve done an incredible job with building conversions. The respiratory therapists have done an incredible job as well.” Jodi Imperato, director for critical care and rapid care, agreed. “I have to say the nurses are tougher than firefighters, I think,” she said. “They’re braver and I don’t mean that in a negative way to firefighters. I would not want to walk into a burning building. “It’s same and different. This can be overwhelming at times and they just sign up for extra shifts and want to help. I have
nurses who ask to work with this population. They want to help. They want to be assigned here. They’re choosing to help because they know it’s needed and it’s their calling.” Elisco said patients who have procedures scheduled with Abrazo that are not COVID-19 related do not need to be nervous. “We have universal masking for every single health care worker and all who enter our building,” he said. “We’ve even gone to universal use of eye protection for health care workers to limit the risk of exposure as well. If some-
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