A message from Stephen Gray, Chief Administrator and Operations Executive, Sutter Health in Santa Cruz County.
Heroes are rarely comfortable with this title. But as we have seen in 2020, the firefighters who have left their homes to come defend ours and the healthcare workers who stand as a shield caring for those with COVID-19 while helping protect the rest of our community from further spread, are indeed heroes.
These brave men and women will humbly say that it’s their job, their duty, their calling. They’ll tell you that it is gratifying for them to know how much they are helping people.
That’s what the staff and physicians of Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation tell me when I call them heroes.
Since the CZU Lightning Complex fire erupted, the healthcare teams I work with have been awed by the bravery and dedication of the firefighters who have come to our aid.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time wildfires have touched Sutter Health. Many of our employees and physicians who live in and serve this community have been personally impacted, and we’ve all leaned on the strength of our integrated network to support our workforce and continue serving our patients. Through it all, we have been immensely grateful to firefighters for protecting our communities so we could carry out our not-for-profit mission.
You are heroes, and from one front line to another we say: Thank You.