#IamMGH - Dr. Jeff Powis (Part 2)

#IamMGH tells the story of our people. Last year, we introduced you to Dr. Jeff Powis, medical director, infection prevention and control at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH). We recently caught up with Dr. Powis again to hear about his experiences while working through the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is what he had to say:

“Our teams at MGH have been working very hard and moving quickly over the past few weeks. I’ve been constantly trying to think 2-3 weeks into the future and make plans for what I believe might be coming. For every decision we make, we have safety in mind – both for our patients and healthcare workers. I have so much appreciation for the teams at the hospital who have quickly adopted new processes and updated practices to keep pace with the speed of change required in a pandemic.

They say in the fight against a pandemic, it’s speed, not perfection, that will win the battle. Everyone has taken that motto to heart. Doing nothing while waiting for perfect data or a perfect solution will lead to failure.  I’m very proud of everyone at MGH and the trust placed in me to guide everyone.   

What’s kept me going throughout this pandemic has been the support and ingenuity I’ve seen from our community. It means they hear the public health messages, they care about the potential impact on the health system and they are active participants in our fight against COVID-19. We will get through this together.”