by Tony Moore
The COVID-19 pandemic has saturated everyone’s attention for months. It’s the reality we’ve been living day in and day out, behind closed doors, as it runs 24/7 on every screen in the house. It’s exhausting to even think about it, let alone keep dealing with it and the way it’s changed, and ended, people’s lives. There’s probably something called pandemic fatigue, and if there is, each of us is likely feeling it in our own way. And all those first responders and people on the front lines and volunteers must be feeling it more than anyone.
But as we also see on every screen in the house, those people aren’t stopping. They’re working through that exhaustion—mental and physical—to help others, whether it’s through their jobs or through an altruistic drive to make the world a better place. And it seems like they won’t stop until the virus does. Among them are countless Dickinsonians.
—Phil Goropoulos ’97, president of CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health
Consuming images and stories of daily life in a hospital emergency department has become a part of everyone else’s daily life over the past few months. But for Michelle Reina ’05, a doctor in southern Oregon, it’s all been very personal. Read her story.
—Chris Sharples ’87, founder and principal, SHoP Architects, whose firm optimized its design equipment to 3D-print personal protective equipment for New York’s Weill Cornell Medicine
—Judy Greenfield Faulkner ’65, founder and CEO of Epic Systems, in a May 12 interview with CNBC’s Bertha Coombs at the network’s annual “Healthy Returns” Summit. The company has many COVID-related initiatives underway, from telehealth and applications of artificial intelligence to investigating possible treatments and undertaking studies on whether patients can get the virus more than once.
When something like the COVID-19 pandemic strikes, everyone has to adapt—and quickly. For individuals, it comes down to social distancing, wearing face coverings and often just being smart about what you do and where you go. For businesses, though, the range of steps needed to ensure the safety of possibly thousands of employees and the satisfaction of customers is vast. Read how Mike Davi '95, senior director of digital strategy and pperations at Anthem Healthcare, and Spyro Karetsos '96, chief risk officer at TD Ameritrade, helped their organizations adapt.
—Dickinson President Margee Ensign, commenting on the Pennsylvania Humanities Council honoring Carlisle’s Community Action Network, founded by Ensign, for its community service during the health crisis
—Andy Keller ’06, who converted his Maryland-based Sagamore Spirit distillery into a handsanitizer operation in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic
—Steve Smith ’92, president and CEO of L.L.Bean, on the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic
When the coronavirus and subsequent COVID-19 sickness first landed hard in the United States, one of the first places to make news was New Rochelle, a New York City suburb that became an early epicenter of the outbreak. An hour north, Stew Glenn ’67 and his wife, Eileen, would soon mobilize the New Paltz Community Foundation as the virus spread. Read the story of how they launched Help Your Neighbors 2020.
—Lisa Sherman ’79, president and CEO of the Ad Council, whose public-service announcements and social media campaigns on topics such as COVID-19 reach millions
—Bob Weed ’80, CEO of Carlisle-based food bank Project SHARE
Read more stories about how members of the Dickinson community near and far have responded to emerging needs and challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more from the summer 2020 issue of Dickinson Magazine.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published August 16, 2020