Monthly Solution

We are all feeling the stress and pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic, but nowhere more than in our nation’s healthcare facilities. It seems like each day we face another negative from a virus that continues to impact the economy, our health, and life as we know it. As the pressure on our facilities continues to grow and the news remains bleak, it’s challenging for FQHC teams to stay positive amid all this bad news.

Clinical quality cannot be sacrificed for the bottom line. However, we’ve all heard the expression, “there is no mission without margin.” Where does this leave the busy primary care provider today in our nation’s Community Health Centers? The pressures they feel today are intense; even before COVID-19, we faced a looming provider shortage that put many of the communities we serve at risk. Primary care providers are at a premium and have been for some time. While we’ve elevated midlevels to lighten the load, the demand for PCPs is still very high.

If you’re not feeling the emotional strain from the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re one of the lucky ones. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll showed nearly half of U.S. adults report a negative impact on their mental health from the worry and stress about the virus.

The best managers in any industry recognize the intrinsic value in understanding what makes their workers tick. This is especially true in healthcare, where highly-skilled knowledge workers make up the majority of the workforce. Culture suffers when a manager fails to adapt their style to the individual needs of the workers they are responsible for. But how can managers do this effectively?