Cone Health's new CEO, Dr. Mary Jo Cagle, participated in the meeting of the Guilford Board of County Commissioners during which they re-enacted the county-wide mask mandate. The News and Record joyfully posted video of an exchange during which she tearfully indicated how demoralized her staff was because of all the COVID admissions. The newspaper obviously felt her comments were wonderful.
This demoralization of the Cone Health System staff was presumably to be regarded as justification for enacting the mask mandate. Of course, Cagle is not even remotely a public health expert; nor does she possess particular expertise on governmental mask mandates. She follows the tradition of the preceding Cone Health CEO who repeatedly prevailed upon units of local government in the region to lock down their respective economies and take away the liberties of citizens.
The Cone Health System was quite happy to take away people's livelihoods. Setting a tone of fear and panic and hysteria would be sure to drive away health care staff from working in the midst of the pandemic. It also would keep patients away from medical facilities. Those in the executive suites exulted in creating a perfect storm.
Cone's lockdowns nearly two years ago did not work, and arguably caused much harm; and moreover, we are still dealing with COVID today. But we are now supposed to believe that masks are the silver bullet.
If the staff of Cagle's hospital system is demoralized, it is because of severe understaffing. After her predecessor helped drive staff away with hysteria, Cagle dutifully enacted a vaccine mandate for employees nearly as soon as she was installed in her position. She should have known better as a physician. But in fact, this probably drove staff away also... justifiably. Hospital systems nationwide have less bed capacity than usual because of understaffing-- and I doubt Cone is an exception.
The Cone Health System more recently has been promoting Covid vaccines for children-- which ought to be regarded as a crime against humanity. Once again, Dr. Cagle ought to know better.
If Mary Jo Cagle's staff is demoralized, it is because of the way the system's leadership behaved in response to the pandemic and ensuing events. Instead of principled, courageous, ethical leadership, they have consistently gotten the precise opposite.
Doctor Cagle has seemingly forgotten the Hippocratic oath.. " First do no harm "
Posted by: Fred Gregory | 01/15/2022 at 06:39 PM
I agree, Fred. This is the same thing as the ethical principle of "non-maleficence" to which all physicians and public health people are supposed to adhere.
Posted by: Triad Conservative | 01/16/2022 at 06:30 AM