February 7, 2010

My Sincerest Thank You For a Job Well Done

Dear Colleagues,

Thanks to advance planning and to your outstanding efforts, The Johns Hopkins Hospital weathered this weekend’s extraordinary snowstorm. We were fortunate to have sufficient staffing on all shifts and were able to ensure that essential patient care and support services were available for our patients, staff and visitors.

At around 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5, The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Snow Emergency Plan was activated and the Emergency Management Team, led by Howie Gwon, opened the command center, housed in the Smith Room of the Billings Administration Building. All medical staff, house staff, nursing staff and all clinical and support staff came together to coordinate our response and ensure continuity of patient care services. The departmental command centers, unit leadership and staff went to extraordinary lengths to meet the needs of our patients.

I especially want to thank our security personnel who helped in transporting staff, and also the employees from facilities who assisted in plowing around the hospital and making sure that the people who provided patient care and support operations were well taken care of. Special kudos go to the food service staff, who provided outstanding food offerings and options to all.

Our hospital, including our outpatient clinics, will return to normal operations on Monday. It is most important to relieve those who spent extraordinary hours over the weekend, and I urge you to carefully plan your transportation to work on Monday.

I appreciate all of you who made it to the hospital over the weekend—particularly those who worked extended shifts and decided to stay overnight. Well done.

Sincerely,

Ronald R. Peterson
President
The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System