Looking at the Current Crisis
Dear Editor,
As an
emergency room physician who spends his nights treating patients and his days
on Beacon Hill as a state representative, I find that the oath I swore to
protect the public health has never been more relevant than at this critical
moment. The coronavirus has upended the lives of so many of our friends and
neighbors over the past few weeks. And unfortunately, the worst is yet to
come.
As the pandemic continues, I want to provide a brief update on what I have
been up to, as well as our government. I have been pulling double duty in
the ER at Boston Medical Center and in the legislature, seeing firsthand
the difficulty in implementing our response to COVID-19. Yet, I
have had the honor and privilege of working the last few weekends in the
ER and have seen the great strides made in protocols, infrastructure, and
management of the virus. COVID-19 testing has finally scaled up to the
capacity that we need, yet obtaining sufficient personal protective
equipment (PPE) remains an issue. We no doubt have a long way to go
but I’m confident we’ll get through this crisis together.
I have put a lot of thought into how I can best serve my constituents,
community, and patients. To that end, I have been providing regular updates via
social media to share my experience on the ground and provide policy updates.
Follow along on Twitter and Facebook for the most up to date
information from the front lines.
State Rep. Jon Santiago