"We’re almost there.” That’s what I’ve been thinking recently, and especially during our eerily sparse Thanksgiving celebrations. Things may be unpleasant now, but if everything goes well, then sometime next summer, we should reach the end of this miserable journey through plagueland.But on closer inspection, the more I realize I don’t really know what “there” will look like. For all the talk of a “return to normal,” large chunks of the old normal are due for a post-covid-19 rethink. And I’m not just talking about movies heading to video or takeout cocktails — though, please, let’s keep the takeout cocktails. The more I think about it, the more I think I’m talking about practically everything.The most obvious place to start is with the health-care system. Hopefully, people are already considering how to strengthen the medical supply chains that broke early in the pandemic and stayed broken too long — including reforming the reimbursement systems that reward medical procedures rather than basics such as protective equipment. We need to reward nursing homes for the basics, too, like cleaning and infectious-disease control, rather than costly extra services — a perverse system that damn near amounted to geronticide when the pandemic hit. These things should have been fixed decades ago; the next best time is right now."
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When we get out of this pandemic is still open for speculation, but let's take some time to discuss what the post-pandemic period will look like. Feel free to comment on:
- What has changed and should remain?
- What has changed and should return to 'normal'?
To get things started, I propose the meeting protocol of hybrid should be the new normal. The Zoom access provides opportunity to participate more so than ever could fit in the Council Chambers.
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| a recent School Committee meeting with 45 participants in Zoom, others in the room and others watching via cable |
