Transcript of the video message:
Hello, I’m Alan Levine, chairman and CEO of Ballad Health, and on behalf of the Ballad Health board of directors and our entire leadership team, I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
I think we can all agree that 2020 is going to go down in history as a year unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And of course a lot of people are going to remember 2020 for COVID-19, this virus which has changed our way of life, probably indefinitely.
I know how I’ll remember 2020, though, and it starts with you. I’ll remember the brave and resilient healthcare workers who came to work every day, and cared for our patients, those who are sick, those who are desperate and those who are vulnerable, despite the risk COVID-19 posed to you and to your families. I’ll remember the team members who worked 12-hours shifts, only to go home and quarantine in a separate room or a basement, isolated from direct contact with your families to ensure their safety.
I’m going to remember the nurses who went above and beyond the call of duty to comfort patients who were afraid and alone because their family could not come into the hospital due to visitation restrictions we’ve had to impose.
I’m also going remember how determined you guys, our healthcare workers, our colleagues have been to ensure families had an opportunity to say their final goodbyes to a loved one, even if it had to be done through a smartphone or a tablet.
I could go on and on about all the selfless, inspiring acts of kindness and courage that we’ve seen from each other over this past year, and despite the many challenges that COVID-19 has created, it’s important to remember that times like these do bring out the best in most people.
- We’ve seen our community rally around Ballad Health and each of us, our team members, whether they are bringing us food, holding prayer vigils in our parking lots, or leaving messages of hope outside of our facilities.
- Within our communities we’ve seen food and clothing drives for those in need.
- We’ve seen neighbors checking in on each other and delivering groceries to the elderly.
- We saw hundreds of people throughout the Appalachian Highlands sew thousands of masks for our healthcare workers, and make the face shields, if you remember.
- And we’ve seen teachers and educators do anything necessary to help their students learn in a very difficult environment, even if it meant going to a student’s house and standing on their front porch with a whiteboard message to help remind them that they actually care.
Fred Rogers, from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” and yes, I’m old enough to remember watching that, he said when he was younger that he’d see something scary in the news, and his mother would say, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
In this case, you are the helpers. You are the heroes, you are the ones who inspire us in the face of adversity. I know this pandemic has taken a toll on you and all of our team members and our families. At times it might feel like the world is weighing in on our shoulders. And remember, no matter how resilient we think we are, we cannot do it all alone.
During this holiday season I ask that you take some time to do something for yourself. Do something that makes you happy. Self-care is extremely important. That might mean watching a favorite movie, safely spending time with family or going on a hike. Whatever it might be, give yourself that time to reset and relax. Remember, better days will come.
As we enter 2021, we have so much to be hopeful for, not the least of which is the COVID-19 vaccine. We can only pray that by this time next year, this vaccine will have helped us return to a sense of normalcy. But in the meantime, remember: Continue to mask up, remain socially distant and wash your hands, and do all the things that the leaders are telling us to do that can help us.
Words cannot express the gratitude I have for each and every single one of you. I often look to my own faith when I face times of challenge. And I find things to be thankful for. And the thing I am most thankful for is the inspiration I’ve received from you, from watching you – the nurses, from talking to our pediatric nurses at Niswonger when they faced one of the darkest weeks I’d ever seen a nursing team face. I saw it when I went up to Russell County when they dealt with a tragic situation with a patient. I saw it at Holston Valley as team members were coming in to work at 6:30 in the morning and they seemed fresh and determined to tackle that day as if it was a fresh new day.
I’m inspired by you, and to me that’s a gift the Lord has given me, that I get to be exposed to each of you. Those of us in management of Ballad, we learn from you, we listen to you, and we really do want to help you be successful, and we want you to feel pride in the organization that you’re a part of, and I believe that, based on how Ballad Health has responded to this, I believe that you can have pride in the organization you’ve chosen to be a part of.
It’s one of the greatest honors of my career to serve this team at Ballad Health, and so from my family, from me and Laura, Katy and Terry, I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas, a wonderful and happy new year, and you have nothing but joy that lies ahead. Thank you and God bless.
