Compassion, Kindness and Solidarity Emerge Along with COVID-19

As we navigate our way through the COVID-19 pandemic, we are being forced to confront many unknown and challenging situations. Undeniably our lives have been significantly impacted but as we deal with the present, we can still find hope for the future.

While it’s tempting to view these unforeseen changes through a lens of fear and disapproval, we should aim to recognize the positivity that has emerged with this crisis. For a large majority of us, our hectic lives have come to a halt, allowing us to spend more precious time with our loved ones. We are seeing firsthand how beautiful and fulfilling a simpler life can be. We are learning how to adjust without luxuries. Our appreciation and yearning for doing simple things such as eating at a restaurant or watching a movie in a theater is growing as each day passes.

In an otherwise competitive world, this same crisis that has forced us to physically separate has brought us closer together in terms of science, medicine and human compassion. The medical community has been sharing information, best practices and technology across the world, and given less-developed countries tools to fight this disease, save lives and reduce its future impact. We are bridging cultural gaps and putting our differences aside for the greater good.

Because of the urgent need for effective testing, treatment and a vaccine, the FDA has implemented the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP) to expedite the development of life-saving COVID-19 treatments and get them to market as fast as is safely possible. This new approach has required the reassignment of staff, more flexibility in regulations, a streamlining of processes for scientists, doctors and developers to submit requests and round-the-clock efforts by FDA staff to review them.

Along the same lines, the federal government has relaxed regulations in order to assist Medicare patients and the healthcare providers serving them. It has lifted the burden of cumbersome paperwork requirements, including prior authorization documentation, so that healthcare providers can focus more of their attention on the urgent need to care for COVID-19 patients. Medicare beneficiaries have been granted free access to telemedicine and care-by-phone services so they can stay safe in their homes while getting needed medical attention.   

The physicians and caregivers at all of the Cleveland Clinic Florida region locations have accomplished a ten-fold increase in monthly telemedicine visits since this crisis began. We’ve expanded our telemedicine capabilities to include more specialties. Our patients are benefiting from increased virtual access for routine follow-up and post-op visits along with appointments with their primary care physicians. Telemedicine services are quick and simple for both physicians and patients and allow us to use our resources in a more efficient and streamlined way. 

Perhaps in the midst of this crisis we can find our greatest hope in the acts of human compassion, kindness and solidarity that are transpiring all over the world. We find hope in the courageous front-line caregivers that continue to give their best in the most selfless way, and in the caregivers that are stepping into new roles to help fill shortages. It’s in the physicians and nurses deployed to hotspots like New York City to provide assistance and relief for our overwhelmed counterparts. It’s in the teachers, grocery workers, small business owners, restaurateurs, scientists, researchers, and others who are working tirelessly to provide their talent, donate their time and offer a helping hand. And it’s in all those who simply care, sharing what they can and seeking advice on how they can do more to help.

These are certainly trying times but this crisis has brought us together. It has given us the opportunity to change so many things for the better. And with this opportunity comes much-needed hope for the future.