The best of times, the worst of times

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way …” - A Tale of Two Cities, Para. 1, Line, 1

In his 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens tells a story of love, hope, despair and grief in London and Paris during the French Revolution. Lucie Manette represents the light of the world, and Madame Defarge is the darkness. The concept of human beings living with multiple simultaneous polarized beliefs and behaviors is playing out again during our current pandemic. Worldwide, we are seeing selfish behavior seeded by ignorance and fear, and bold acts of benevolence and inclusion fueled by facts and love. The latter is where we aspire to be as a civilized society, one where we treat one another as we want to be treated ourselves. Before and during COVID-19, Kaiser Permanente has been a shining light in the darkness. Our mission to improve the health and wellness of our patients and the communities we serve, combined with our integrated, prepaid, evidence-based group practice, perfectly position us to lead our communities through this pandemic. We stand on the shoulders of visionary giants such as Henry Kaiser, Sidney Garfield, Cecil Cutting, Morris Collen, Bruce Sams, and Robbie Pearl who introduced industry leading new models of care. And when this pandemic hit, our Permanente leaders immediately stepped up with facts not fear and implemented a plan to flatten the curve. This has been followed by rallying resources to support the professional, social, and emotional needs of our workforce and adapting our daily operations to meet the needs of our patients and secure our financial footing. #permanentemedicine #bestoftimes