As the nation watched video clips of the destructive fires that erupted throughout the greater Los Angeles area at the start of this year, those of us living and working near the burned or endangered regions were overwhelmed with worry. Were friends and loved ones in danger? Would our homes and neighborhoods be destroyed?
Many employees of Keck Medicine of USC were unfortunately affected. In total, 82 staff members had to be evacuated from their homes with some still unable to return. An additional 80 of them actually lost their residences. More broadly, community resources that offer support in challenging times such as schools and places of worship were damaged or even lost entirely.
Among those affected was Gavin Perez, a 23-year-old financial services staff member of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, who evacuated his home of 21 years with his parents, sister and brother. The next day, he learned that his family’s home and its entire block had burned to the ground.
Another employee of ours had a role in fighting the fires. Keck Hospital of USC lab technician Ryan Blake spent 12 hours assisting local paramedics as a volunteer before returning to his Altadena home. After extinguishing smoldering flames and clearing brush near his home, he returned to his volunteering.
In the days following the fires, the leadership of Keck Medicine knew we needed to step into this tragic moment and support our staff, physicians and communities. To quote Shakespeare, “the readiness is all.” We were fortunate to already have a program in place with infrastructure to offer assistance: our Care for the Caregiver program. Established just as the pandemic was unfolding, it was during the lockdown that the program became a robust collection of resources for our staff.
In response to the wildfires, we reactivated our emergency support services by reminding our caregivers about our phone line and establishing a 24/7 process to triage their immediate concerns. Staff were placed in hotels as we worked with a partner agency to find short- and long-term housing options. A fire resources site was created, and a Caregiver Emergency Fund was made available to support staff and physicians who had been impacted. Our chief health equity, inclusion and community officer led an effort where employees could donate household items to their peers.
Credit for the speed and ease with which we stood up our network of fire resources goes to our human resources and Care for the Caregiver program and staff, who acted quickly and decisively. They refined the program to far exceed our original intentions.
Planning for the original program was underway even before the COVID-19 crisis. National data and our own data and observations indicated that meeting employee needs should be an elevated priority. When the pandemic hit, we were fortunate to be able to launch this program quickly and support our employees. Through generous donations and a commitment to digging deep to identify creative options, our Care for Caregiver program provided wide-ranging options, from the basics like housing, food and wellness support to more imaginative opportunities like tutoring for children of staff and music therapy.
As with all employee support resources, we track metrics and solicit input to ensure that our offerings match identified need. Most recently, over 230 unique callers accessed our fire resources hotline, and more than 300 requests for financial assistance have been submitted. Others accessed emotional and workplace support services.
Our lesson learned—from our pre-COVID-19 vision of an employee support program through the broad needs of the pandemic to caring for staff impacted by urban wildfires—is that our work on these programs is never finished. Needs change, funding demands vacillate and crises cannot always be predicted. Our role is to rise to these moments by providing programs that are structured to stretch and adapt in service to our staff and physicians.
Rod Hanners is CEO, Keck Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, and an ACHE member.