Phoebe CEO talks reinstating day-to-day procedures

ALBANY, Ga. —  There’s a renewed sense of hope on Phoebe Putney’s main campus, as Monday afternoon, the health system announced their lowest number of confirmed COVID-19 patients since the start of the pandemic.

For many, including Phoebe CEO, Scott Steiner, it’s a breath of fresh air.

“I could see it today, just walking around, visiting with the staff in different areas. People are ready, ready to move on. We’ve got a lot of teams who have done an incredible amount of work. All of our 4,500 phoebe warriors have done an incredible job. Some have gotten some needed rest because those first three, four, five weeks were so intense,” says Steiner.

As of late last week, people who have been in need of outpatient procedures will be able to come back to get the help they need.

Steiner says that to re-open means that regular healthcare no longer has to be put off for those in need of certain procedures based on condition

He tells us, “It’s not ‘throw the doors open’ where everybody can come rushing in. It’s calculated, we’re doing it in a safe manner, not just for our community, our patients, but our employees as well.”

There’s certainly a reason for the staff to be optimistic at Phoebe. But Steiner says that now isn’t the time to ease up on precautions.

Especially as many of the measures the community has taken in the last month have helped to flatten the curve.

“The virus is definitely still in our community. It’s still in every community in the United States. It’s just with the sheltering in place and the precautions with wearing a mask, social distancing, and washing your hands has truly worked. So we need to keep this up and we need to drive this virus out of our community,” says Steiner.

As the curve continues to flatten, hospital staff and officials are hoping that the ordeal the pandemic has caused is almost over.

Phoebe announced that there have been more than 250 inpatients who have recovered.