Christobel Shedd Selecky '72

Christobel Shedd Selecky ’72         
Board Chair, Board Member Satellite Healthcare, SCAN Health Plan, Verity Health System, Teleperformance

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your experience at work? At home?

I have had a 40 year career in healthcare and this pandemic is a real education in how people pull together and adjust to fight a common, if unseen, enemy.  All of the companies on whose boards of directors I serve have focused on the needs of our employees (protecting their health as well as making sure that they are OK financially) and our patients and members (expanding capacity to provide usual and Covid-19 care in a safe and sanitized environment).  Perhaps the most significant change I am seeing has been the speed of the shift to work at home for employees and telemedicine for patients who are under stay at home orders. Using remote communication for the provision of healthcare is an initiative which has been years in the making but slow to be adopted until now.  I have been impressed with the ability of our technology infrastructure to accommodate such a surge in demand (after a few initial glitches). I believe that the silver lining is how our capacity to innovate and adapt is leading to our work and healthcare worlds being permanently changed (and, ultimately improved) as a result of this pandemic.
 

How did your WFS education prepare you for your work at the moment? 

My time at Wilmington Friends infused me with a sense of mission for making the world a better place.  I have found healthcare to be a field which shares this mission. During this time of crisis, it is heartening to see so many people pulling together and making sacrifices for the greater good. 
 

Is there anything else you would like to share with the WFS Community?

Stay safe and well!  We will get through this!