Podcast Q&A with Michael Mistretta, Part 1: “Nothing Can Prepare You for Something Like This.”

“Strategy went out the window, frankly.”

In healthcare IT, where anything from a hurricane to an expected outage can disrupt operations, disaster preparedness is critical. Leaders want to know what to expect, and how they can best react. It’s precisely why Virginia Hospital Center works with groups like FEMA to run drills — so that everyone from network engineers to nurses know what to do in the event of, say, a terrorist attack.

What VHC — along with every other organization in the country — has learned, however, is that when a global pandemic hits, strategy goes out the window. “Nothing can prepare you for something of this magnitude and duration,” said Mike Mistretta, who has served as CIO since 2015. Luckily, his team did have the ability and willingness to pivot quickly, and immediately took steps to be able to accommodate the surge in patients while protecting caregivers.

In a recent interview, Mistretta talked about how VHC pieced together a Covid-19 response (including setting up the area’s first drive-through testing center), what he believes will be the biggest challenge as facilities reopen, and what he would’ve done differently, given the opportunity.

Part 1



* Covid-19’s impact on VHC

* “Nothing can prepare you for something of this magnitude.”

* From strategy to “reacting on a daily basis.”

* Taking on new or different roles – “You figure out how to get it done, and you do it.”

* Admin counsel focused on how to move forward

* “Staffing is going to be one of the biggest challenges”

* Telecommuting for the foreseeable future – “99 percent of what we’re doing now is remote.”

* Cross-training to fill essential roles

* “Right now it’s about doing whatever is needed.”



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Bold Statements

You try to prepare for these things — and we’re fortunate enough here in D.C. that we have some disaster preparedness-type scenarios we’ve been practicing — but nothing can prepare you for something of this magnitude and duration.

Strategy went out the window, frankly. It’s reacting on a daily basis. We have calls with our leadership team twice a day — in the morning and evening — just to figure out the direction we’re going. Whatever needs to be done, we just have to figure out the bandwidth required, and do it as a team.

We’re not only seeing Covid-19 patients; we’re also seeing med/surg cases where people have postponed conditions for a month or two, and now they’re at the point where they can’t wait anymore. It’s a dual-edged sword.

When surgeries start to come back, we’re going to have to backfill for those screening stations. Those are the types of things we’re challenged with right now.

We’re doing whatever we need to make sure we’ve got people retrained and productive in some manner. They’re certainly not working at the top of their licensure, but right now it’s about doing whatever is needed.

 

Gamble:  At a high level, can you talk about how the pandemic has impacted your strategy as CIO?

Mistretta:  What’s interesting is you try to prepare for these things — and we’re fortunate enough here in D.C. that we have some disaster preparedness-type scenarios that we’ve been practicing and drilling with FEMA — but nothing can prepare you for something of this magnitude and duration. But while a lot of people were scrambling for remote working, we had implemented those policies a year or two ago. My staff’s ability to do 100 percent of their job from home was already in place, and so we were fortunate in that regard.