The Daily Dose
Dr. Douglas Finch
Congratulations to our Frontline Heroes award winners!
View the other Frontline Heroes
November 14, 2020
Healthy Living 
Frontline Hero: Dr. Douglas Finch, Ellis Medicine
The People’s Choice Awards.
Nominated by their patients and peers, these individuals are being recognized for showing compassion, care, and concern in the midst of a global pandemic.
Dr. Douglas Finch
Dr. Douglas Finch was working at James J. Peters VA Medical Center in New York City when the World Trade Center was attacked on September 11, 2001. Interestingly, he says his experience with the COVID-19 crisis has been quite similar.
“Many people – myself included – experienced the same level of trauma. There were parts of this that were actually worse than 9/11.”
Finch, who now serves as the head of infectious disease at Ellis Medicine, says there were many unknowns with coronavirus, which has led to anxiety for many.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor, a kid whose school was closed, or parent who lost their job, these are scary times.”
It doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor, a kid whose school was closed, or parent who lost their job, these are scary times
Dr. Douglas Finch
Ellis Medicine
Despite fear and uncertainty, Finch was impressed with the level of ingenuity that came from the pandemic, particularly the increased use of telemedicine. “We could have done this years ago, but we never had a reason to. Everybody learned how to do it quickly and it’s working great!” Finch says telehealth has been great for his rural patients, many of whom travel an hour or more to see him.
Despite the progress made since the pandemic began, Dr. Finch’s job is far from done. He says we’ve learned a lot from the virus, but there’s much more to be accomplished. He thinks the virus will teach us a tremendous amount about the human body, and its response to diseases, like COVID and influenza.
“I think we missed a real opportunity with influenza. We’ve known about it since 1918. It does similar things to the body as coronavirus, but a bell never went off. Despite all the medicine and science, some people still get sick and die. The same can be said for COVID. It’s like we’re fighting a new war.”
Comments are closed.