Hospital Rises to the Challenge

Elke Frank always starts her day by looking at her phone. “The first thing I do when I get up is check my e-mail,” says the commercial director of Munich’s Rechts der Isar Hospital. “Sometimes I get a call in the middle of the night,” she adds. That has been happening more often now since the outbreak of the coronavirus—for example, if a colleague from China offers to arrange a shipment of personal protective equipment. When Dr. Frank arrives at her office in a pre-war building of the historic hospital, she begins by checking in with other directors and staff. “Right now, of course, our priority is on dealing with the pandemic. But we’re also trying to maintain a certain sense of normality, and our everyday work continues as well.”