WITH THE HOSPITAL SYSTEM
RECEIVED THE STATE'S VERY FIRST
COVD 19 CASE, THEN BRIAN
KNOWLES WAS DIAGNOSED WITH THE
VIRUS. EARLIER TODAY I TALKED
TO THE HEAD OF COMMUNITY HEALTH
NETWORK FROM HIS HOME. HE'S
STILL HERE RECOVERING AND HE
ALSO IS LEADING A TEAM OF
THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF
HEALTH CARE WORKERS RIGHT HERE
IN CENTRAL INDIANA. BRIAN
MILLS, HEAD OF COMMUNITY HEALTH
NETWORK, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
JOINING US. YOU GOT TO BE HERE.
SO YOU HAVE THIS UNIQUE
POSITION OF BEING THE HEAD OF
ONE OF THE STATE'S LARGEST
HOSPITAL SYSTEMS AND ALSO BEING
SOMEONE WHO IS AT HOME DEALING
WITH COVD 19 AND RECOVERING.
THAT'S NOT EXACTLY THE
COMBINATION THAT I GUESS IS
BETTER. YES, I'M HERE. I'VE
BEEN IN MY BASEMENT FOR TWO
WEEKS NOW AND LIKE EVERYBODY
ELSE I'M ADAPTING, ADAPTING AND
FINDING DIFFERENT WAYS TO
COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE AND
WORKING THROUGH THIS. YOU'RE AN
INTERESTING PERSON AND THE FACT
THAT SO MANY PEOPLE SAY WE'RE
HEARING ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT
ARE AT THE HOSPITAL. BUT WHAT
ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE
RECOVERING? WHAT HAS IT BEEN
LIKE TO BE IN THAT SITUATION
WHERE YOU QUARANTINE AND
ISOLATED AND YOU KNOW THE
SYMPTOMS, THE STRUGGLES THE
SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN REALLY
INTERESTING. YOU KNOW, I THINK
I HAD A MILD CASE OF THAT. I'M
ALMOST DONE. I'M COMING ON THE
OTHER SIDE. I'M JUST
UNBELIEVABLY TIRED AND I SLEEP
A LOT. I SLEEP. WHAT'S LIKELY
TO HAPPEN HERE IS THAT BUT ON
THE WHOLE IDEA I MEAN AT SOME
POINT IDEOLOGY DOESN'T TELL
YOU. I MEAN THIS IS SOMETHING
THAT I'VE BEEN DEALT. I HAVE
RESPONSIBILITIES TO LEAD THIS
ORGANIZATION. I'VE GOT TO
FIGURE OUT HOW TO PREPARE. SO
WITH TECHNOLOGY LIKE WHAT WE'RE
DOING HERE NOW WITH ALL KINDS
OF CALLS AND ALL KINDS THE WAYS
THAT COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE,
WE'RE GETTING IT. AND WE HAVE
TO WE DON'T WE DON'T HAVE A
CHOICE. WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS.
WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
WELL, I WOULD SAY WE'RE NOT
SAYING THAT I LOVE IT. WE'RE
JUST MY TEAM SEVERAL TIMES THAT
LIEK FOOTBALL GAME AND PEOPLE
DON'T LIKE HEARING THAT. BUT
WE'VE GOT TO CONTINUE TO FIND
WAYS TO SUPPORT PEOPLE, TO CALM
PEOPLE DOWN, TO UNDERSTAND WE
PEOPLE THAT ARE DEPENDENT ON US
AND OUR JOB IS TO SERVE OUR
COMMUNITY. AND WE'RE GOING TO
SERVE RIGHT HERE. AND THAT
CHANGES DAILY HOW WE DO THAT.
BUT WE'RE GOING TO SERVE OUR
COMMUNITY. SO YOUR COMMUNITY AS
YOUR EMPLOYEES AND THEN IT'S
THE GREATER COMMUNITY, THE
PATIENTS AND THE PATIENT
FAMILIES THAT RELY ON YOUR
CARE. TAKIG FIRST OF ALL ABOUT
YOUR EMPLOYEES. HOW MANY YOU
HAVE? HOW THEY'RE DOING. ARE
YOU BELIEVING THAT THEY'RE
GOING TO BE TAPPING INTO THIS
MEDICAL WORKFORCE RESERVE
THAT'S BEEN SET UP BY THE STATE
?I DON'T KNOW. WELL, AT THIS
POINT WE HAVE THAT WE HAVE TO
KEEP OUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT. WE
HAVE FIVE ALMOST 600 TODAY.
FORTNUATE LIEK WE HAVE TWO
THOUSAND PEOPLE IN OUR
SUPPLEMENTAL STAFFING PROGRAM
BECAUSE THEIR JOBS HAVE
CHANGED. WE CLOSE THEIR
LOCATION. I HAVE. SO I TOLD OUR
THOSE TWO THOUSAND PEOPLE THAT
WE HAVE 900 JUST OVER 900
POSITIONS. WHO IS THE BEST
PRACTICE PROVIDER? THEIR JOB IS
CHANGE. AND I'VE TOLD BOTH OF
THOSE GROUPS, YOU KNOW, AS LONG
AS YOU'LL DO THE JOB WE ASKED
YOU TO DO. YOU'RE ON OUR
PAYROLL. WE HAVE NOT MADE
ANYBODY OFF. I HAVE NO
INTENTION BY ANYBODY ELSE. AND
THE REASON IS A LITTLE MAY WE
WE HAVE A JOB TO DO. THIS JOB
IS GROWING. IT'S NOT. SO THIS
PANDEMIC IS COMING OUR WAY.
WE'RE NOT THROUGH IT. SO I
GATHER THE OTHER DAY WE GOT TO
WORK OVER 900 POSITIONS IN THE
BEST PRACTICE PROVIDING THAT
WHILE THEY HAVE NOT WORKED IN
AN EMERGENCY ROOM IN AN ICU, IN
A HOSPITAL YEARS. PROBABLY SOME
TRAINING, RETRAINING AND I'LL
DO WHATEVER YOU NEED TO DO.
RETIRED DOCTORS, RETIRED NURSES
REACH OUT TO ME. SAID WHAT DO
YOU NEED? THAT'S WHAT WE NEED
IN ALL OF US ARE DOING THINGS
THAT WE'RE NOT WE. WE DIDN'T
THINK WE'D HAVE TO DO BUT WE'RE
GOING TO DO IT WITH OUR
EMPLOYEES. WE SAID WE JUST NEED
YOU TO BE TO BE WILLING TO BE
TRAINED. WE HAD A GROUP OF
PEOPLE WORKING DOCTORS OFFICES
THAT RAISED HER HAND A FEW DAYS
AGO AND SAID HOW WORK IN A
HOSPITAL, WHAT WE NEED TO DO
AND NOW THE MITTMAN THIRD SHIFT
SO SO WE JUST GOT TO ALL
UNDERSTAND THAT WE'VE BEEN
TAPPED ON THE SHOULDER. WE'VE
BEEN CALLED TO DO THIS AND
WE'LL GET PEOPLE THROUGH AND
WE'RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE
CAN TO KEEP THEM SAFE. WE'VE
COME A LONG WAY FROM THE FIRST
PATIENT TESTING POSITIVE IN THE
STATE OF INDIANA BEING MET IN
YOUR PARKING LOT OVERNIGHT TO
WHERE WE ARE NOW. HOW MANY
CORONAVIRUS HAVE YOU TREATED
SINCE THEN AND THE COMMUNITY
HEALTH NETWORK SYSTEM? AND HOW
ARE THE OUTCOMES? I DON'T HAVE
A NUMBER ON THE TOTAL WE
TREATED. I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT
NOW WE HAVE ABOUT MAYBE
HOSPITALS RIGHT NOW. THERE ARE
COVD POSITIVE. WE HAVE ANOTHER
ABOUT 140 THAT ARE UNDER UNDER
WATCH BECAUSE THEY'RE SYMPTOMS.
SO AT ANY POINT KIND OF WE'VE
GOT A COUPLE HUNDRED AND ONE OF
OUR LOCATIONS WE HAVE HAD SOME
PEOPLE PASS WHICH IS REALLY
HARD. IT'S REALLY HARD TODAY. I
MEAN TO THINK THIS IS HAPPENING
AND WE HAVE NO VISITORS THAT
ARE REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
HOW DO WE USE TECHNOLOGY LIKE
THIS TO HELP PEOPLE THAT
THEY'RE LOVED AND THERE'S ALL
KINDS OF ISSUES RELATED TO THAT
AND TECHNOLOGY. BUT WE'RE
GETTING BETTER. SO THAT'S A
PIECE OF IT. WE HAVE NO TESTING
HAS BEEN AN ISSUE IN OUR STATE
AND MANY OTHER STATES. PART OF
THE PROBLEM WITH OUR PREDICTION
CAN'T PREDICT WHAT ANALYTICS
SANTIZING IS INTO THAT WE ONLY
TEST PEOPLE THAT ARE BASICALLY
HEALTH WORKERS AND PATIENTS IN
A HOSPITAL OR IN PATIENTS
EXTENDED CARE FACILITY OR
NURSING HOME. SO OUR DATA IS
REALLY SKEWED. AND SO WE REALLY
DON'T KNOW THAT PIECE. SO BUT
WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN AND
THEN WE WE WE WE CONTINUE TO
LAB TO SEARCH PPE PERSONAL
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT THAT WE'RE
DOING BETTER AT THAT WE'RE
UNDERSTANDING BETTER FROM THE
CDC AND OTHERS AS TO WHAT WE
NEED TO DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES
TO GO ON THERE. IT'S A IT'S ONE
THIS IS HAPPENING. WHY THIS IS
NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN
SO PREPARED. BRIAN, THANK YOU
SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. WE'LL
LEAVE IT THERE. WE WISH YOU
CONTINUED RECOVERY. WHEN DO YOU
THINK THAT WHEN DOES YOUR
QUARANTINE AND I'M A COUPLE
DAYS FROM OFFICIALLY INDYGO AND
I'M TOLD ALL COVD COMMUNITY.