St. Tammany Health System CEO Joan Coffman gives thanks in Healthcare Journal of New Orleans Q-and-A

STHS’s Joan Coffman is featured in the December 2020 issue of the Healthcare Journal of New Orleans. (Photo by Tim San Fillippo / STHS; inset via HCNO)

By STHS Communication Department

We all know that 2020 has been a difficult year, particularly for healthcare workers. But, as St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman points out in the December 2020 issue of the Healthcare Journal of New Orleans, there are, indeed, plenty of reason to be thankful.

As part of a wide-ranging Q-and-A spanning five pages – and covering myriad topics – Coffman first and foremost praised the tireless work of the hospital’s team of caregivers throughout the pandemic, which is going on its ninth month at STHS. But she also credited members of the Northshore community as a whole for their continued support and adherence to recommended COVID guidelines like mask-wearing and social distancing.  

“We are so grateful to everyone in our community who has supported and upheld our heroic staff from the earliest, scariest days of the pandemic,” Coffman told the magazine. “We benefited from the generosity of local churches, businesses, restaurants, elected officials, physicians, dentists, charities, neighbors, families and friends. They shared PPE, food, sewing skills, care and concern. Truly, their homegrown generosity touched our hearts.”

She continued: “Beyond the immediate public health crisis of COVID, we thank our local city and parish government leaders for always supporting our health system. The local mayors and councils, parish president and council, all stay connected with us as we work together to improve the health and lives of people living in our community.”

Read Coffman’s full Q-and-A in the December’s Healthcare Journal of New Orleans, a digital version of which can be found here.