Dr. Jonathan Paladino from Hawaii Pacific Health joined the Star-Advertiser’s COVID-19 Care Conversation today to share his first-hand experience from the frontlines.

Dr. Paladino said the experience for healthcare providers has been a rollercoaster. He explained there was a complete lack of information, coupled with a rapid increase in cases that resulted in a lot of confusion and anxiety.

“We were most likely taking care of COVID-19 patients before we knew they had COVID,” he said, reflecting back to how things were at the beginning.

Over time as more information became available healthcare providers were able to streamline processes. Since there was no defined treatment plan, healthcare providers locally, nationally, and globally relied on each other’s experiences for information and best practices.

Once the WHO and CDC were able to provide guidelines based on the data gathered, Hawaii healthcare providers were able to adapt guidelines to create a specific approach for Hawaii patients.

Dr. Paladino said the coronavirus made healthcare systems really look at their disaster response plans and helped establish communication between the different local healthcare systems. With regards to a potential second wave or surge, Dr. Paladino said “we are very prepared,” and said he believes their ability to care for patients is the best they’ve ever been.

Senator Brian Schatz will be the featured guest on tomorrow’s COVID-19 Care Conversation. Visit the Star-Advertiser’s Facebook page tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. to ask your questions.

The COVID-19 Care Conversation, sponsored by Hawai’i Executive Collaborative and Hawaii Pacific Health, airs live every weekday at 10:30 a.m. on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Facebook page. Yunji de Nies and Ryan Kalei Tsuji discuss the latest news, resources and community concerns about the coronavirus outbreak in Hawaii.