The unimaginable images of a mob descending on and vandalizing our U.S. Capitol last week leave a stain on the story of this country. Regardless of one’s political leanings, the invasion of the sanctity of the seat of American democracy was wrong.

As we enter the final week of what has been a thoroughly challenging year for us all, as you continue to see COVID patients stream into your hospitals, we are cautiously hopeful.

It is day 283 of the COVID crisis in Maryland. As on every day before, you and your teams continue to work tirelessly to save lives and keep our communities safe and healthy.

Work is underway on several fronts as your hospitals prepare to receive and distribute the first batches of a long-awaited vaccine for COVID-19. Your organizations and your people will be at the forefront of perhaps the largest and most ambitious vaccination effort in our country’s history.

Thanksgiving this year will look much different for many of us. No traditional dinner with extended family. No visits from in-laws and friends, and tough decisions about how to safely welcome home college-age children.

The warning lights that have flashed yellow for weeks, now show as solid red. Maryland is seeing a dramatic rise in both COVID cases and hospitalizations—prompting the state to tighten public health measures and announce a surge plan for hospitals.

It now seems Joe Biden will be the 46th President of the United States. What will this mean for the hospital field, and for health care in Maryland?

The recent spike in coronavirus cases in Maryland and nationwide puts your hospitals and dedicated caregivers in the spotlight again. Our state’s strong support for hospital workers was on view this week when Gov. Larry Hogan visited Mercy Medical Center to thank them, as a representative of all our hospitals, during National Respiratory Care Week. It’s great to see him acknowledging hospitals’ central role in the ongoing fight against COVID.

We and much of the nation are alarmed to see an uptick of COVID in most states, including Maryland. Your hospitals appear to be managing the volume without the strain felt during our spike in April/May, yet we know a significant surge would threaten that progress and stress your resources further.

With just three months to the start of the 2021 legislative session in Annapolis, we’ll need to adapt to yet another new challenge brought on by the coronavirus: communicating with lawmakers remotely.

The coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn it has caused disproportionately affects the neediest Marylanders and communities of color. Even as some restrictions on business and social activity are lifting, the economy is slow to bounce back. Just last week the number of first-time unemployment claims in Maryland nearly doubled.

Caregivers in Maryland hospitals and health systems work year-round to heal patients and to keep their communities healthy. They also have an opportunity to help shape the direction of health care in our state and nation by casting their votes in the November 3 general election.

Even as many parts of our state reopen to commerce, on-campus learning, and indoor recreation, there is reason to hope we’ve crushed the curve. Though there was that 20% spike in COVID inpatients two weeks after Labor Day weekend.

Hospitals and health systems have a clear imperative to make real strides on health equity. At Friday’s MHA Executive Committee meeting, Donna Jacobs of UMMS, chair of the MHA Health Equity Task Force, and Dr. Sherita Golden of Johns Hopkins Medicine, chair of MHA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Group, outlined the opportunity. They spoke of pursuing sustainable change and “to do well by the people we serve.”

This year, MHA celebrates its 50th anniversary. That’s 50 years working for and alongside you to advance health and health care in our state. I speak for the entire MHA team when I say it’s a privilege to advocate and educate on your behalf.

The start of the school year is now just days away. On Thursday Gov. Larry Hogan announced all local school systems are authorized to open for in-person instruction. For most children in Maryland, that seems unlikely. Many jurisdictions, including the largest ones, have already decided to begin the school year virtually.​

The coronavirus has altered every aspect of our lives—even the process by which we select our elected leaders. The unconventional party conventions have gone digital, and many more people are expected to vote by mail in November.

“I can’t imagine going back.” - CMS Administrator Seema Verma. We too, cannot imagine making patients forfeit the expanded access to telehealth that has become vital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When MHA’s Executive Committee approved our Commitment to Racial Equity recently, we put in writing our shared mission to right historic wrongs in our communities, our hospitals, and in the health care field.

We are by no means finished with COVID-19, so it may be premature to try to answer this question: Does the Maryland model of health care financing protect our hospitals against pandemic shock in ways not found in other states?