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. 2021 Sep 7:13:199-207.
doi: 10.2147/JHL.S319829. eCollection 2021.

Healthcare Leadership in the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Innovative Preparation to Evolutionary Transformation

Matthew A Crain  1 , Amy L Bush  2 , Heather Hayanga  3 , Annelee Boyle  4 , Merv Unger  3 , Matthew Ellison  3 , Pavithra Ellison  3
Affiliations

Healthcare Leadership in the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Innovative Preparation to Evolutionary Transformation

Matthew A Crain et al. J Healthc Leadersh. .

Abstract

Purpose: In pandemics, centralized healthcare leadership is a critical requirement. The objective of this study was to analyze the early development, operation, and effectiveness of a COVID-19 organizational leadership team and transformation of healthcare services at West Virginia University Hospitals and Health System (WVUHS). The analysis focused on how Kotter's Leading Change eight-stage paradigm could contribute to an understanding of the determinants of successful organizational change in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The fifteen core leaders of WVUHS COVID-19 strategic system were interviewed. A qualitative thematic analysis of the interviews was used to evaluate key aspects of leadership dynamics and system-wide changes in healthcare policies and protocols to contain the pandemic. Outcome measures included the degree to which WVUHS could handle and contain COVID-19 cases as well as COVID-19 death and vaccination rates in West Virginia compared with other states.

Results: The leadership team radically and rapidly revamped nearly all healthcare policies, procedures, and protocols for WVUHS hospitals and clinics, and launched a Hospital Incident Command System. As a result of this effective leadership team and strategic plan, WVUHS surge capacity was adequate for COVID-19 cases. In addition, West Virginia was an early frontrunner in COVID-19 vaccination rates as well as lower death rates.

Conclusion: WVUHS's leadership response to the COVID-19 pandemic followed Kotter's eight-stage paradigm for Leading Change in organizations, including the establishment of a sense of urgency, formation of a powerful guiding coalition, creation of a vision, communication of the vision, empowerment of others to act on the vision, plan for and creation of short-term wins, consolidation of improvements and production of more changes, and institutionalization of new approaches. This approach was effective in limiting the spread and impact of COVID-19 within the hospital network and across the state, with many lessons learned along the way.

Keywords: COVID-19; hospital incident command system; hospital management; leading change; organizational change.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

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