Member insight: Thinking outside the box, navigating new opportunities for CDI during the pandemic

by Deborah Mallon, RN, BSN, MPA, CCDS, CCS, CCS-P, and Kerry Seekircher, RN, BSN, CCDS, CDIP

Northwell Health is New York State’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, about 800 outpatient sites, and approximately 74,000 employees including over 18,500 nurses and 4,500 employed physicians and advanced care providers. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 hit New York City in March 2020, and healthcare was taken on an unprecedented journey.

When the pandemic began, supporting our teams became the top priority. As the first cases began to hit the communities we serve, senior leadership made the decision to transition the teams temporarily to fully remote work. Across the enterprise, staff were supplied with a home setup to include all the resources they needed to carry out their work from the home setting.

The message, more of a mantra, to our teams was that we will get through this together, and stronger than ever. We recognized that communication, engagement, and flexibility were going to be drivers to ensure that we could make this happen.