Executive Summary
The paper presents a healthcare leadership response plan to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. It identifies the issue’s urgency and concludes that successful leadership is essential to get through the crisis. The democratic leadership style is the most suitable in this situation as it motivates employees and facilitates decision-making (Samarakoon, 2019). The healthcare system leaders are facing challenges associated with economic downfall and supplies shortage (Regis College, 2021). They cause ethical issues concerning medicines and bed allocation and force managers to choose which patients will get admitted to hospitals. The plan suggests that healthcare managers lead the government and law enforcement officials regarding pandemic-related issues to provide a safe environment for United States citizens. The leaders must have transparency and confidence in their actions to communicate effectively and gain public trust. They should provide credible information to the media, using it for educational and disciplinary purposes. Healthcare leadership is vital for the country to manage the global pandemic challenges, and the Crisis Leadership Response Plan proposes styles and concepts for resolving the public safety crisis.
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the public health, security, and economy in the United States. Healthcare is the primary public safety sector responsible for managing the crisis, and it is crucial to ensure effective leadership in this area. In this paper, I discuss the pandemic outbreak, examine the role of healthcare sector leadership in the crisis, analyze management’s challenges, and evaluate the situation from the public safety leader’s perspective. I propose a plan which involves choosing suitable leadership styles, concepts, and organizations that should be led by healthcare management and suggesting how the healthcare sector can handle the current pandemic challenges.
Description of the Crisis in the United States
The virus, first discovered in 2019 in Wuhan, China, spread in most countries, causing a global crisis that affected billions. The public health, the well-being of American Citizens, and the country’s economy suffered from the pandemic. COVID-19 had a significant epidemiological impact as the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States was over 89 million, and the number of reported deaths exceeded one million in July 2022 (World Health Organization, 2022). Older patients and those with health issues before the infection were affected by the virus the most, as the disease can lead to complications and, in severe cases, hospitalization and death.
COVID-19 posed many restrictions, limiting the number of clients and employees’ working hours. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job availability reduced by 4.2 million, and the unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in October 2021 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2022, para. 26). The lockdown caused challenges with food and housing for many citizens. According to the Pulse survey, in October 2021, about 20 million adults lived in households with insufficient food supplies, and 12 million could not pay their rent (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2022, para. 3). In addition to financial fallout, many had problems accessing food and other necessities due to the safety concerns related to the pandemic, and issues traveling inside the cities because of the public transportation disruptions (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2022, para. 7). The COVID-19 pandemic depressed economic market and destabilized economic state of the United States citizens.
The Role of Healthcare Leaders and Professionals’ in Fighting COVID-19
Healthcare professionals play the leading role in managing the crisis with COVID-19. The World Health Organization informs that while less than 3 percent of the world population are in the healthcare industry, up to 35 percent of the reported COVID-19 cases are among health workers (2020, para. 6). Many employees mentioned suffering from depression, anxiety, and insomnia due to working with COVID-19 patients (The World Health Organization, 2020). Healthcare professionals saved a million lives during the pandemic, so the role of healthcare agencies in the crisis is vital.
While nurses and doctors are fighting against the virus in, strong public health leadership is crucial for maintaining stability in the country. Analyzing the crisis from the public safety leader’s perspective, I believe that the current condition of the United States regarding the pandemic has improved compared to the beginning of 2020 despite some economic and social concerns. Citizens are informed about the risks of the virus, many were vaccinated and got used to living with the restrictions, so the situation is under control. Healthcare leaders play a vital role in collaborating with the government and providing hospitals with medical equipment, helping to treat millions of people. However, to improve the situation further, I suggest the leadership choose a suitable style to motivate their workers and lead authorities and law enforcement officials regarding the pandemic. Successful leadership in healthcare, the most vital sector during the pandemic, enables the whole country to contribute toward the success of fighting against the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, I propose a plan which includes selecting an appropriate leadership style, evaluating current challenges, and applying leadership concepts to handle them.
Leadership Styles for Healthcare sector during COVID-19 pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic was unexpected for everyone, including healthcare workers and healthcare leaders who had never experienced anything similar. Therefore, managers must listen to their employees and gather information and insights to facilitate decision-making. From my perspective, Autocratic and Bureaucratic leadership styles do not suit such a stressful and unprecedented situation. Employees who are limited by strict rules, and punished for not following them, may get demotivated and experience high levels of stress (Samarakoon, 2019). When managers are entirely in power, and their workers’ opinions are dismissed, there is a high risk of making a mistake due to the lack of different perspectives.
As a healthcare leader, I would choose a democratic leadership style as it allows workers to stay motivated and do their jobs effectively. This style requires managers to gather information and ideas from their employees before making the final decision (Samarakoon, 2019). Even though the democratic leadership style pressures managers to consider many opinions and come up with a single solution, it is known to be efficient with skillful workers. The leadership needs to provide the most favorable workplace conditions during the pandemic, as healthcare professionals are responsible for the lives of millions and are in a highly stressful situation. Public health depends on the doctors’ performance, so the managers should provide them with the safest workplace environment.
Leadership Challenges in the Public Safety Environment
COVID-19 pandemic poses various ethical and decision-making issues that might be challenging for healthcare leaders to address. Since the beginning of the pandemic, many hospitals have encountered understaffing, lack of medication, beds, and other hardships. An insufficient amount of employees forces healthcare professionals to work overtime, making them contact COVID-19 patients extensively. The leadership faces the question of whether it is ethical to let their workers repeatedly approach infected people, knowing that the hospital staff constitutes up to 35 percent of the reported cases (The World Health Organization, 2020, para.6). Executives are also responsible for making difficult decisions regarding staff allocation or choosing who will work with the most severe coronavirus cases. Another ethical issue for the leadership concerns admitting patients to the hospitals. If there is a lack of beds or equipment, the hospitals have to admit patients selectively. Many non-COVID-19 patients also require intensive care, putting double pressure on healthcare workers. Leadership is the sector responsible for balancing COVID-19 and other patients, assessing which cases are the most severe ones, and deciding who requires their services the most.
The rapid economic downfall due to the pandemic significantly impacted the health care sector. Medical and other supplies in the hospitals primarily depend on the governmental budget, so financial shortages lead to a lack of drugs, equipment, and other necessities. Mary Ann Hart, Master of Health Administration Program director, highlights that the healthcare sector depends on patient insurance income (Regis College, 2021). Many people lost their jobs and health insurance during the pandemic, causing another economic challenge for the healthcare sector. Hart also mentions that the pandemic showed that people of color have more difficulty assessing the healthcare system. They were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and healthcare leaders should work toward providing accessible treatment for more people.
Healthcare Sector Leadership for the Law Enforcement Officials and the Government
The pandemic rocketed the number of public health leaders’ responsibilities in the Public Safety Environment. I propose for the public health sector to communicate and collaborate with other organizations, including law enforcement services and the government, to get through the crisis successfully. Strong healthcare sector leadership empowers the government as they can help the community and prevent the virus from harming people. Leading the government members can allow healthcare to get more funding and address the economic challenges in the industry. I believe the managers should be more transparent about the financial needs of the hospitals and negotiate with the authorities regarding their finances. In addition, public health leaders must explain the importance of vaccines to those who can control citizens through laws and regulations. In 2021, only half of the United States citizens and two-thirds of the workers were vaccinated (Dyer, 2021, para.3). Despite public concerns, the statistics prove that vaccination helps stop the virus from spreading. Therefore, healthcare management should advocate for mandatory vaccination and impact law enforcement officials and the government to change regulations, decreasing the number of cases and preventing hospitals from admitting patients selectively.
Moreover, I suggest that the healthcare leadership has a leading role in establishing or lifting pandemic restrictions. For instance, the Indian government decided to allow festivals during the pandemic, resulting in a surge of COVID-19 cases and losing public trust (Sazzad, 2021). To prevent such outcomes, the United States government needs to consult public health leaders before making decisions that may endanger citizens. The healthcare sector should lead law enforcement and government members concerning the pandemic situation, as they have the most knowledge about the virus and can assess the problem.
Leadership Concepts in the Pandemic Outbreak
Regarding the other leadership concepts, the healthcare sector must ensure transparency in its actions. The managers need to communicate with the government and the public openly. They act as “subject matter experts for complex issues that cross multiple disciplines” (Varma et al., 2021). For instance, leaders analyze studies regarding the virus, determine how credible and precise the information is, and release it to the public. Public health is responsible for educating American citizens and guaranteeing their understanding of the latest pandemic updates. Executives must provide transparency and inform the public, as people tend to have more trust in authorities than regular medical workers. However, if doctors discover news about the virus that may cause public unrest, they might face a dilemma between being fully honest with the citizens or hiding facts not to cause havoc. They would have to decide whether it is ethical to be dishonest in such a critical situation and if they can prevent panic and manage public fear if the truth is revealed.
Another requirement for the leadership is advocating for an accessible healthcare system that does not discriminate based on economic, social, and other backgrounds. Fiona Day, the public health consultant, highlights that “all generic health interventions inevitably lead to health inequalities and that any new infectious disease will inevitably become a disease of poverty and inequality” (2021, para. 4). She suggests that medical leaders have a new approach to the society. As a healthcare manager, I would propose for the public health agency to be in control of law officials’ and politicians’ decisions regarding public health to ensure non-discriminatory and effective treatment options.
To gain more confidence, another important concept for leadership, public health managers should find an accessible way of communication for their employees. Currently, healthcare workers cannot efficiently interchange information as “the United States has a fragmented data ecosystem lacking interoperability even within the public health and healthcare sectors” (Jaeger, 2021, para. 11). Improving health technology and creating apps that contain data about vaccination and other crucial aspects public health would improve workers’ confidence, enhancing performance and empowering the leadership.
Handling the Media Relations during the Crisis
When safety concerns do not allow many to go out in public, media becomes the most significant source of communication. Handling media relations is essential for public health managers, as media can serve an educational and disciplinary role. Health science professors’ research found that nurses use media to promote correct pandemic behaviors and educate people about the virus and health precautions (Glasdam et al., 2022). I believe that healthcare executives must secure the public’s access to credible and updated data through actively using media, as false sources may spread incorrect information otherwise. Creating apps with all the confirmed virus-related information is one way of exchanging data between healthcare workers and releasing it to the public. Improving media relations is an essential part of the plan for healthcare managers because it educates the citizens and ensures their safety.
Conclusion
COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on the public health and economy of the States. Healthcare was identified as the primary public safety sector for managing the crisis. Healthcare leadership educates citizens, consults the government on regulations, and provides employees with the necessary equipment. Employee satisfaction is essential for public health, so this plan proposed for leaders to choose a democratic strategy and consider employees’ opinions. Leading the law enforcement officials and the government members in pandemic-related questions, negotiating with the authorities regarding financing, and imposing stricter vaccination rules were also significant aspects of the plan. Transparency and confidence were considered other necessary leadership concepts that increase employees’ and authorities’ confidence and public trust. Lastly, I proposed that the executives focus on developing better medical apps and actively using media sources to educate the public and prevent spreading fake information. Effective leadership in the healthcare sector is essential for managing the effects of the crisis and eventually stopping it. Therefore, the leadership should apply strategies and concepts discussed in the plan to resolve the safety crisis.
References
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Dyer, O. (2021). Covid-19: US imposes mandatory vaccination on two thirds of workforce. BMJ.
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