On March 16, The Philadelphia Inquirer published an op-ed by Professor Robert Field, who stressed the importance of public health infrastructure while sharing five key lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is more than the city official who closes a local restaurant or the announcer on a public service video who scolds us about wearing a seat belt,” Field wrote, describing one lesson the public has learned about public health.

“Like the security suite running in the background on your computer, it is the often-hidden support that responds to threats before the entire system crashes.” 

Field was also quoted in a March 31 Bloomberg Law article about federal agencies finally relaxing regulations that some hospitals and healthcare providers had already started ignoring to manage the influx of patients, lack of supplies and staff shortages due to COVID-19.

“I think we’ve seen over the last few months a series of baby steps, and what we need now are giant strides,” Field said. “You don’t fight a war with baby steps. We need coordinated national policy. We still have an undersupply in crucial areas like personal protective equipment, tests, and ventilators, and nationwide the situation seems to be chaotic.” 

Field is a nationally recognized expert in health care regulation and its role in implementing public policy. He holds a joint appointment as professor of health management and policy at Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health.