What will you do AFTER this crisis that you wish you would have done BEFORE this crisis?

Isn’t hindsight grand? How many times over the past couple of months have you said “I wish I would have done this or that?”

While some might speculate regarding the source of this crisis looking for blame, it really doesn’t matter. It came “out of the blue,” it is dangerous, and people unfortunately are dying from contracting it. The fact is, that no matter where it came from, or how it got here – it is here NOW, and we must deal with it NOW.

Part of my healthcare background has been in behavioral health where Freud followers would suggest that every problem was” your mother’s fault.” Then, William Glasser came out with reality therapy which said “too bad about your mom, here is where you are today and what are you going to do about it?”

So, what most folks are doing now, is mitigation. Crises reveal what’s already in place; whether poor processes, untrained workers, or untested leaders. When you are in the crisis, its too late to prepare.  We are all playing catch-up, doing our best to ensure the least harm is done in terms of lives lost, people suffering with poor health, disrupted lives, economic ruin, etc. We all wish now that we had been more prepared – all of us. There is plenty of fault and blame to go around, but that really accomplishes nothing good.

BUT, what we can do, is get ready for the next one. Yes, there will be a next crisis perhaps even more dangerous, expensive, wide-spread, long-lasting, etc. In the midst of crisis, rather than wring our hands, it is important to act our way out of this one, and plan to avoid / minimize the impact of the next one.

As learning organisms, I pray that we all will assess NOW what we must change going forward with regard to our ineffective plans, processes and people. As a former SNF operator I recall the big deal we would make about having our 3 day food supply ready for survey. Was it current, did we have the right amounts? Also, I remember, sometimes begrudgingly, having fire and disaster drills in order to get our check off for the month.

Going forward, how far outside of the box do we need to think? Do we need to ensure a 30+ day supply of PPE for all employees and residents using 10 sets per day per resident? Do we stockpile and maintain oxygen concentrators and ventilators? How many are enough?

 What processes are in desperate need of revision, what training needs to be done, how is your leadership bench?

My encouragement is to start NOW, making your list of things you will do to get ready for the next one based on the problems you face because you did not get ready for this one.

John Gardner, Senior Advisor

John.Gardner@TriadLeadershipGroup.com // 818-292-7156

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-you-do-after-crisis-wish-had-done-before-john-gardner