System News

The following is a piece written by our President and CEO Dr. Jeffrey DiLisi. It was shared in today’s Post and Courier.

Today marks another milestone for Roper St. Francis Healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two years ago, a patient walked into an outpatient office on the Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital campus with COVID-19 symptoms.

While we had prepared for that moment, we never could have predicted just how the next 24 months would change us.

That patient went on to test positive for COVID-19 and eventually recover. But Roper St. Francis Healthcare has continued to see so much more of this deadly disease.

We’ve cared for 4,500 COVID-19 inpatients, performed 279,000 COVID-19 tests and administered 130,000 doses of the lifesaving vaccine.

We’ve endured fear and loss throughout this pandemic. But hope remains, and health care workers are why.

I am forever inspired by the grit and dedication of our team at Roper St. Francis Healthcare as well as others nationwide. They’ve given their time, shared their expertise and showed compassion to heal others. Their spirit has been tested through multiple COVID surges.

And yet they persevere, proving why “Heroes work here” banners hang in doctors’ offices and hospitals.

It’s been said hope is like light in the darkness that leads the way out.

Rob Arp, one of the pastoral care managers at Roper Hospital, shared with me that he sees health care workers as burning lights of hope.

“Consider the strength of such a unified effort,” Rob told me. “When we all rally together, we form a brazen torch that illuminates the hurt, despair and pain of life and offers meaning, resiliency and community.”

Well said, Rob.

Hope is our firm resolve that COVID-19 will be conquered and that our lives will move forward with greater compassion and respect for the dignity of life.

To all the health care workers, let’s continue to support one another and be a blazing light of hope for the Lowcountry and beyond.