Kieran Cody M.D. reflects on his 2-year tenure as President of the Medical Staff, serving the community during the COVID-19 pandemic and the teamwork, ingenuity, and grit that would define Doylestown Health.
When Kieran Cody, M.D. began his 2-year tenure as President of the Medical Staff of Doylestown Health on July 1, 2019, he had big plans. He was eager to represent the over 400 physicians affiliated with Doylestown Health across a wide variety of specialties, to further strengthen working relationships, and to advance the medical staff’s collaboration with Doylestown Hospital and connection to the community. Of course, fate intervened.
Within months, Doylestown Health’s medical staff would be facing COVID-19, the worst public health crisis in our lifetimes, and would ultimately treat nearly 1,000 hospitalized patients who were very sick with a deadly virus that was as contagious as it was unpredictable.
Working in tandem with the Doylestown Health leadership team and the medical executive committee, Dr. Cody helped coordinate the medical staff’s response to COVID-19 – from the first positive case at Doylestown Hospital, through the dark, uncertain days of 2020, to the roll-out of vaccines to curb the spread.
Here, Dr. Cody reflects on his 2-year tenure as President of the Medical Staff, the unprecedented challenge of handling a global pandemic and the medical staff’s “exceptional” response to the crisis.
Can you describe when you started to realize that COVID-19 was going to impact Bucks County?
We were in staff meetings and looking at projections of maps from Johns Hopkins University that tracked COVID-19 and where it was in the world. There were dots on the map to represent cases. At the time, these were singular dots across the US. It started in Seattle, and then NYC. Of course, we were also watching the situation globally, seeing cases in Europe and Italy and watching things get worse. We knew it was just a matter of time…and then it hit. We had our first positive test on March 6 and then the first inpatient a week later. We realized it was here.
How did Doylestown Health respond in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic?
While medical practices outside the hospital were shutting down, everything was ramping up inside the hospital. The COVID triage tent went up in the parking lot and we stopped all elective procedures. At times, we had scores of COVID patients throughout the hospital. We didn’t have all the medicines and techniques to treat COVID that we have today. Early on, it was harrowing and unpredictable for everybody.
Despite the uncertainty, nobody hesitated. Everyone came together with the single-minded goal of providing the absolute best care to patients in Bucks County. It was incredible to see everyone step up and address this crisis head on with intelligence, ingenuity, and imagination. I could not be more proud of the entire Doylestown Health team.
Can you discuss your experience as a volunteer in the ICU at height of the pandemic?
First, as president of the medical staff, it was important for me to find out what the hospital needed and to get the word out to our entire medical staff. So many physicians volunteered to help in any way they could, often outside of their own areas of specialty.
Personally, I was a volunteer in the ICU throughout the entire month of April 2020. I went to the hospital twice a day, everyday. I put on the full PPE with the hood, mask, and respirator so that I could go into the COVID-19 ICU with the nurses who worked there full time. They were the true heroes.
We helped the nurses in positioning patients, because the patients could breathe much better if they were prone (face down). It takes a minimum of 5 people to turn a patient over safely when the patient is intubated, so we worked as a team. We turned the patients at night and then came back in the morning to turn them on their backs so the nurses could do their regular nursing care during the day.
That was an experience I will never forget. We were there as a team, seven days a week, through weekends and holidays. And it had nothing to do with orthopedics. But like many of our doctors, I was happy to be repurposed in any way that would help.
How do you feel the medical staff of Doylestown Health responded to the COVID-19 crisis?
I’m proud to say the response was exceptional. The people who were on the frontlines worked tirelessly. We were very innovative. New and experimental protocols that were only available at large academic medical centers were being done at Doylestown Hospital. From the intensive care physicians and hospitalists on the front lines, to the infectious disease physicians and the pharmacists, who brought in the newest medicines, the response of our entire medical staff was brave and brisk.
(Click here to watch a video on the Doylestown Health COVID response.)
How did Doylestown Hospital’s status as an independent hospital inform the response to the pandemic?
Truly one of the advantages of being an independent hospital is that we could be nimble. We did not have to go through a long chain of command. So, decisions were made very quickly by the administration, in consultation with the medical leadership team, and swiftly implemented by the medical staff.
By contrast, some hospitals that were part of larger groups had more trouble responding because they couldn’t make decisions on the fly in a rapidly evolving crisis. So, Doylestown Hospital was really at the forefront in many ways.
I believe the leadership of the hospital, the quality of medical staff, and our independence all came together to help provide the people of Bucks County with some of the best care possible during this pandemic.
Who do you believe were the unsung heroes in the pandemic?
No doubt, the biggest unsung heroes were the nurses on the frontline. I saw this firsthand, working alongside those ICU nurses as we dealt with the unknown. Now we have a much better handle on what COVID is, how it’s transmitted, and how to prevent it. But early on, there were a lot of unknowns and people were very sick. And still our nurses were there every day, taking care of their patients even as we all struggled with overwhelming uncertainties. My hats off to them for the way they pushed aside their own fears and fought for each and every patient that came in our doors.
During your tenure as President of the Medical Staff, the nation also faced a reckoning on issues related race. How did that impact Doylestown Health?
It certainly was a wake-up call for all of us as a nation, and I knew it was imperative to bring the discussion to the medical staff. Knowing the issues that face patients and physicians of color, and the history of medical biases, I felt it was important to begin an open and constructive dialogue. To that end, I dedicated one of our quarterly all-staff meetings to the issue and brought in an experienced trainer whose sole focus is on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the medical setting. I’m proud to report that it was by far the best attended medical staff meeting in my recollection and the speaker was well received. Of course, it’s clearly not a once and done proposition. I think people need to look at DEI as an ongoing conversation and goal. Unconscious biases are difficult to address, but we must keep challenging ourselves because it will ultimately lead to better outcomes for all.
You have a robust career as a founding partner and orthopedic surgeon at Bucks County Orthopedics. Why was it important to you to dedicate so much of your personal time and energy to Doylestown Health and the role of Medical Staff President?
For me it’s all about giving back and ensuring that our community has access to an outstanding healthcare network. Throughout my career I’ve been involved in many committees at Doylestown Health and in the interface between physicians and the hospital to make sure we’re providing the highest quality care. I’ve truly enjoyed working with different physician groups across specialties and finding ways for us to work together. This was the ultimate position where I could lead, collaborate with physicians in many different aspects of healthcare, and work with Doylestown Health to make a significant impact on patient care in the community. I was truly honored to be elected to this position and proud to serve in it for the past 2 years.
Could you describe the Doylestown Health medical staff in 3 words?
World class. Committed. Caring.
More About Kieran Cody M.D.
Dr. Kieran Cody is an Orthopedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist with particular expertise in correcting a broad range of shoulder and knee problems. He has been with practicing with Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists since 1996. Dr. Cody is board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and possesses a Certificate of Added Qualification in Sports Medicine. He was President of the Doylestown Health medical staff from July 2019 through June 2021; he will now serve two additional years as Immediate Past President.
About Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists
Bucks County Orthopedic Specialists (BCOS) is the largest orthopedic practice in the community, serving the Bucks and Montgomery County region for over 40 years. The multi-specialty practice has fellowship-trained physicians from leading university hospitals, achieving exceptional results using state-of-the-art, minimally invasive treatments with a commitment from the total team to provide seamless, personalized care from start to finish. BCOS surgeons perform thousands of surgeries each year and have offices in Doylestown and Warrington. To learn more visit: www.bucksortho.com.