HJAR Sep/Oct 2020

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  SEP / OCT 2020 11 and the number of contact tracers that we have, and we’re continuing to look at how we can make that effective. Editor Do healthcare providers, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities have enough PPE now that more non- ambulatory services have re-opened? Gov. Hutchinson Yes, the hospitals and the physicians have an adequate supply of PPE. We have been a big resource for inventory of PPE if there’s a shortage in the medical community. You worry about the future, but I do believe that our national supply chain of PPE has caught up with the demand, and so it’s looking better, and we’ve got a surplus in case we need to fill holes. Editor When do you think N95 masks will be available to the public? Gov. Hutchinson I expect that to continue to be devoted to the medical commu- nity and first responders. I doubt that the public will move in that direction, partly because they’re adapting to the use of the cloth mask, and also the N95 masks are so uncomfortable, I doubt that’s going to move into outside of the medical field. But I do believe the supply will be adequate for med- ical community. Editor Flu season historically brings a wave of hospitalizations, and may bring on a second wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations this fall. Are we ready? Gov. Hutchinson Well, the problem is, nobody knows what the fall is going to be like. I think we’re ready for what I optimisti- cally believe will happen, but we also have to be ready for the unforeseen, and the unpre- dictability of this virus. So, we are investing very quickly in beefing up our infrastructure to be ready for what might happen in the fall. The staffing at our hospitals would be worrisome if we had a dramatic increase in hospitalizations, and that’s what we want to watch the most carefully. But the hospitals know the challenge, and so they’re beefing up the staff as we look at the fall and what might happen. Editor You and your team have a lot on your plate these days. How do you main- tain optimal physical and mental health? Gov. Hutchinson Well, it is a challenge, and my staff have been working extraordi- narily hard, and those at the Department of Health have been on the frontlines, but also, our workforce services have had to handle unemployment benefits. The list of challenges is very long. At the height of the challenge, of course, is the work that is being done by our healthcare workers. From my personal standpoint, I have concentrated on exercising regularly, and that helps you mentally, as well as making sure that you’re in the right condition to do the work that’s needed. If you think about what’s ahead for my team, we’ve got this fall, that looks like COVID-19 is still going to be here, and then in January you move into the legislative session, which is always a stressful time. So you’ve got to take a long look at this, you’ve got to take care of yourself, and we have to take some time off, because this is not a short-term fight that we’re in. Editor If there was something you would change about the healthcare system today, what would it be? Gov. Hutchinson I think we’ve learned that we have to beef up our IT systems so that we’re getting timely data, and that we can process that data. The list of how we can improve our data reporting is fairly signifi- cant, and we’ve done a pretty good job of managing the data, but we can see ways to improve that. The data is so critical in mak- ing the right healthcare decisions, partic- ularly during a pandemic. The next step, of course, is, when we get a vaccine, how you’re going to distribute that. We’ll wait for CDC guidance on that. I’m very proud of Arkansas and how they responded to this. As usual, we pull together, we help each other, and we stay after it. We don’t lose our sense of balance. We know this is going to be with us a while, and we can’t stop living, we have to have school, and we want to have sports. We want to live life; we don’t want to just erase 2020. That’s the spirit of Arkansas, and I think that helps us mentally. It helps us to get through this, it helps tomake sure that we can provide a liv- ing for our families, and continue to educate our children and grandchildren. n