By Rich Copp

Much has been written these past few weeks about the five-year anniversary of COVID. And rightfully so. To this day, I do not think we fully appreciate nor understand how the pandemic changed our lives in so many ways. Forever.

While much of what has been written second guesses what was done or reexamines how society was impacted – one thing is undeniable. There were countless moments which displayed the power of teamwork, partnership and compassion.

For me, Boston Hope Medical Center is an enduring symbol of what we got right during COVID.

In the early days of the pandemic, we were scared. We didn’t know how long it would last, how many people would get sick, or if we would ever have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to respond. On a Saturday afternoon, I received a phone call indicating that my employer, Partners HealthCare, now Mass General Brigham, would be taking the lead on setting up a 1,000-bed field hospital at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Exhausted from a nearly 24/7 schedule responding to media requests and writing daily updates to our 80,000 employees on COVID policy and procedures, I could not imagine how I could take on another role.

I had no idea I was about to embark upon one of the greatest privileges of my career.

I immediately found myself on a Zoom call with members of the military, clinical leaders from Partners, as well as city and state officials. I was asked if I could serve as the public information officer. These were the early days of COVID. “No” was not really an option.

In the days leading up to Boston Hope’s opening, we made a decision that no media would be allowed into the patient care area once admissions began – consistent with the policy at all other Partners hospitals. We scheduled a “media day” so that journalists could get a firsthand look inside, as well as the requisite photos and “b-roll” for ongoing coverage.

That day, I took a few photos from the catwalk above the convention center. It was an ominous visual. It was the first time during COVID that a sense of fear engulfed me. What were we going to experience? Looking at 1,000 field hospital beds awaiting sick patients felt like something out of World War II.

Over the course of the next two months, the National Guard, Partners HealthCare, Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, Atrius Health, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield and countless others worked together in partnership to care for COVID patients. We achieved our main goals – caring for the sick and taking pressure off acute care hospitals across the city so they had adequate capacity.

We were led by great leaders – General Jack Hammond, Jeanette Ives Erickson, Giles Boland and others. Thankfully, we never filled all 1,000 beds, but were prepared to meet that need. Over the course of nearly two months, we cared for about 700 patients. By my own personal estimation, it was the most successful field hospital in the nation.

Boston Hope’s last patient was discharged on June 2. The photograph of that moment – a documentation of sheer jubilation in the midst of so much uncertainty and anguish – was heralded as one of the best of 2020. If you look closely, you’ll find me in the back (violating a long-held rule that PR people should never wind up in the photo). It was a moment I will never forget. It signaled the end of the “first wave.” The event ushered in a moment of calm and respite. Little did we know there would be a ferocious second wave later in the year. But, by the end of that wave, there would be vaccines too.

Boston Hope, while only open for two months, represented the very best of Boston. In the ultimate moment of uncertainty, we were certain of what we needed to do, which was to be there for one another.