Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic: The five lessons learned

Over a year ago, we published a paper on the lessons that we as a healthcare system in Georgia learned from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. These lessons included the following: (1) Take a deep breath; this is a marathon, not a sprint. (2) There is no ‘right’ way to do things. (3) Be kind to yourself and to others. (4) Teamwork. (5) Be flexible. At the time the paper was published, there was hope that with the rapid development and approval of vaccines, we would soon be looking at the end of the pandemic with a return to life as we knew it before its onset. Sadly, the slow adoption of vaccines has led to the emergence of variants like Delta and Omicron, and almost two years into the pandemic, the light at the end of the tunnel seems much dimmer than it had been a year ago. At the time of this writing, we are beginning our fifth surge. This paper describes the journey that we have been on for the past year and a half and shows that the five lessons previously learned remained relevant as we continue in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our focus as we managed the impact of the pandemic remained consistent with the values of Piedmont Healthcare: (1) Focus on patient-centred care; (2) Exemplify teamwork and connections; (3) Be an owner; (4) Embrace the future. We maintained our pursuit of the Piedmont Promise as we made a positive difference to the lives we touched.