Dear Ardent Readers,
As February dawns, there is a glimmer of hope that we shall soon be past the peak of the third wave of the pandemic, driven this time by the Omicron variant of SARS CoV-2, which was the original virus that surfaced in an exotic meat market in Wuhan, China in December 2019.
Since then alpha, beta and the delta variants have ravaged our lives, delta doing the worst. Two years of the pandemic have gone by. Many families have suffered great and painful times, saw many near and dear ones suffer and sadly, lost some of them. The losses were also in jobs, income, economy, children’s education, family festivals and even friendships.
But this time around, mercifully, there is a let up in the pace and pain, and in the relentless cascade of troubling events casting a long and dark shadow over our lives.
The relief has come from the fact that this variant, Omicron, which dominated in the 3rd wave, did not cause the worst to happen.
Instead, some good things happened.
Humble and simple Paracetamol became the main home remedy.
We did not need test after test.
Hospitalization numbers stayed low.
No Oxygen famine.
Families were not broken with grief.
No anxious news on media.
How did all this happen?
Yes, the mass immunization through vaccination was the miracle that saved our lives.
The front line and health care workers and the 60+ with or without illnesses that put them at risk of severe COVID, need to get their boosters as the acquired immunity may start to wane.
Yet there are many who haven’t taken their primary vaccinations.
Hoping that Omicron would steeply peak around the first week of February and then begin falling, Government is easing on night curfew and weekend lockdowns.
Schools may be able to open carefully. But let us not ease off on the universal precautions of physical distancing and wearing an appropriate mask. We encourage everyone to vaccinate, and those at risk should take the precaution dose without fail. Fortunately, no variant of proven significance is waiting around the corner to surprise us yet again.
But we may have to learn to live with COVID for the foreseeable future.
Let us stay healthy, eat healthily and achieve optimal mental and physical health.
Stop smoking. Say NO to alcohol. Watch your mind that shall take care of the body.
Your mental health translates into physical health.
A smile for every one!
Laugh with friends and family.
Life is precious!
Love life, do not permit or condone violence.
We do not need wars.
We need a wonderful planet earth.
We are blessed with two big assets – one our family and next our health. Let us cherish both.
The following articles shall help in keeping ourselves healthy and to protect and preserve our families.
Have a great month ahead.
We’d love to know what you think about our monthly newsletter. Feel free to connect with us through vignesh@kauveryhospital.com.
Dr. Kavitha Sundaravadanam
Senior Family Physician
Highlights @ Kauvery
Republic Day Celebrations at Kauvery Hospital
The 73rd Republic Day celebrations were conducted with much patriotism and enthusiasm.
Dr Sabeeha unfolded the national flag.
A special thanks to all the lovely, lady doctors of Kauvery, for their active participation.
A grand march past, following which prizes were given off to our staff as “Pride of Kauvery”, acknowledging them for their great deeds of honesty, hard work and commitment towards patient care.
We Kauverians are proud to be Indians. Jai Hind!
Innovations
February being the month of love, a heartfelt thank you to all our wonderful Kauverians whose enthusiasm and strive for continuous growth make Kauvery such a great place to learn and work.
Our top highlights of the month
Have you ever been in this potentially awkward situation? You get a promotion and suddenly this means that you will now be managing former peers. Will your “crew” be supportive? Jealous? Becoming the nursing supervisor or In-charge is an exciting transition, but it can also be a nerve-wracking one. They now have to face the precarious challenge of figuring out how to manage former peers. We conducted a workshop with the objective of helping our nursing supervisors navigate peer relationships. They are now empowered to create an environment where their team feels encouraged and energized for the work ahead – rather than defeated or threatened.
We also introduced the concept of extreme leadership. If you are like us and love looking at workshops differently then you probably would’ve enjoyed this session. We discussed the battle of Ramadi in detail with our nursing leadership team – the most violent battlefield in Iraq where Jocko and Leif’s SEAL task unit faced a seemingly impossible mission: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a city deemed “all but lost.” We discussed the accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories but most importantly the leadership principles that led to the team’s success.
February being the month of love, a heartfelt thank you to all our wonderful Kauverians whose enthusiasm and strive for continuous growth make Kauvery such a great place to learn and work.
The same principle can be applied in nursing. The fundamental principle of Extreme Ownership states that there are no bad teams, just bad leaders. If you get a chance to interact with our nursing supervisors, don’t hesitate to initiate a conversation about this. You can directly hear from them about what it means to be an effective leader!
Neuberg Lab team Intervention