Chapters Health System Uses Creativity to Protect Clinical Staff, Patients from COVID-19
Tampa, FL

March 2, 2021

Chapters Health System, a leading nonprofit, community-based healthcare organizations based in Temple Terrace, today announced its progress to combat the spread of COVID-19. Throughout Chapters Health, clinical staff have cared for more than 1,100 COVID-19 patients, including 240 at the COVID-19 wing at the Melech Hospice House. Despite this statistic, cases among clinical staff have remained low, thanks to the effective use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety guidelines developed and implemented early in the pandemic.

“At Melech Hospice House, we use full PPE when caring for our COVID-19 patients and this has prevented the spread to our staff, patients and community,” said Rebecca Jensen RN, BSN

Director, Inpatient Care at LifePath Hospice. “I feel these guidelines at Melech Hospice House and the strict use of our PPE with isolation on our COVID-19 wing has prevented spread.”

As an added layer of protection, all staff at the Melech Hospice House COVID-19 wing are required to change scrubs upon arrival and when they leave. They are also required to remain on the COVID-19 wing for the duration of their shifts.

To further protect staff and patients, Chapters Health succeeded in finding creative ways to provide staff access to vaccines.

“As hospice and home care organizations were not included in the state’s distribution of vaccine to healthcare workers, I am very thankful to our community partners, including but not limited to the Polk and Hernando County Health Departments, Oak Hill, St. Joseph’s and Tampa General Hospitals for stepping up and allowing our front line providers to receive vaccine at their institutions,” said Ronald Schonwetter, MD, FACP, AGSF, FAAHPM, HMDC, Chief Medical Officer at Chapters Health.

“A special thank you to the Polk County Health Department who also transferred vaccine to Chapters Health System in order for us to establish an internal COVID-19 vaccine clinic to more easily vaccinate and protect our front line providers,” emphasized Schonwetter.

The organization also tested or arranged its clinical staff to be tested more than 3,000 times as a requirement for long term care facility entrance during the pandemic, in order to care for their patients residing in those settings.

About Chapters Health System

As a progressive leader and premier health system, Chapters Health System is dedicated to delivering innovative home health, palliative and hospice care along with durable medical equipment and pharmacy services. Since 1983 as a community-based, nonprofit organization, Chapters Health has provided choices, education and guidance through its managed affiliates: Chapters Health Home Care, Chapters Health Palliative Care, Chapters Health Hospice, Good Shepherd Hospice, Hospice of Okeechobee, HPH Hospice and LifePath Hospice, located in Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Martin, Okeechobee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and St. Lucie counties. All offerings are provided in order to improve the patient/family experience well in advance of end-of-life needs. In 2020, Chapters Health was certified for the third consecutive year as a great workplace in the Aging Services category by the independent analysts at the Great Place to Work® Institute. To learn more, visit www.chaptershealth.org, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Contact:

Austin Mudd

Media Relations Specialist

Chapters Health System

[email protected]

P: 813.871.8327; C: 813.310.4690

About Us

Established in 1983 as a community-centered, nonprofit entity, Chapters Health has grown exponentially through its radical approach to healthcare that leverages a one-of-a-kind system to support patients, families, and caregivers across the country, while remaining grounded in the mission of taking care of patients, or taking care of those who do®.

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John J. Whyte, MD, MPH

CEO and Executive President,
American Medical Association

John Whyte, MD, MPH serves as the CEO and Executive Vice President of the American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physician organization.

Prior to the AMA, Dr. Whyte served as the Chief Medical Officer at WebMD, leading initiatives that expanded strategic partnerships, created new business opportunities, and positioned WebMD at the forefront of digital health innovation. He was a pivotal force in evolving WebMD’s digital platforms from content delivery engines to powerful tools connecting consumers directly to care, establishing critical new revenue models. He is a recognized leader in healthcare delivery and regulation and is consistently named as one of the Top 20 Health Influencers.

Before joining WebMD, Dr. Whyte served as Director of Professional Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. There, he spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives to modernize clinical trial design, expand diversity in research, and advance the regulatory use of real-world evidence — efforts that continue to impact patient-centered drug development today.

Earlier, as Chief Medical Expert and Vice President of Health and Medical Education at Discovery Channel, Dr. Whyte launched educational programming that captured both medical and mainstream audiences, successfully aligning mission-driven health education with corporate funding strategies and building new multimedia brand identities.

At the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Dr. Whyte played a pivotal role in formalizing Medicare’s national coverage decision process, directly shaping payment policies and advancing innovative models to improve healthcare outcomes. His experience at CMS demonstrates a deep understanding of health policy, reimbursement strategies, and the critical intersection of clinical innovation and payment models.

A board-certified internist, Dr. Whyte completed his MD at Hahnemann University School of Medicine, his residency at Duke University Medical Center and earned his MPH in Health Policy and Management at Harvard University. He previously served as a health services research fellow at Stanford University. An accomplished author, Dr. Whyte has written extensively for both professional and consumer audiences, including five best-selling book

Andrew Molosky on podcast

Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan

Nobel Laureate

Venki Ramakrishnan is an American and British molecular biologist who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He currently works at the world-renowned MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England and from 2015-2020, he served as President of the Royal Society, one of the world’s oldest scientific organizations. He is best known for his work on protein synthesis, the process by which genetic information is used by the ribosome to make the thousands of proteins that make life possible. This process is fundamental to all life and its dysfunction leads to many diseases as well as to aging. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and was knighted by the British government in 2012. In 2022, he received one of Britain’s highest civilian honors, the Order of Merit, which is restricted to 24 people across all fields.

In addition to his academic work, Ramakrishnan is a science partner of the venture capital fund Ahren Innovation Capital, and on the boards of the AI-based drug development company, Isomorphic Labs, and the British Library. He recently co-founded RNAvate, an RNA therapeutics company based on stable, next-generation RNA molecules. In the public arena, he played a leadership role when he was president of the Royal Society, including dealing with the consequences of Brexit and helping convene the Society’s response to provide advice during the covid pandemic and did a significant amount of public engagement including articles in the press and appearances on national media.

Ramakrishnan is the author of two popular books: Gene Machine (2018), a very frank scientific memoir about the race for the structure of the ribosome that led to the Nobel Prize; and Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest For Immortality (2024), which looks at the biology of aging and efforts to combat it.

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Marwa El-Menshawi, MD, MPH

Chief Operating Officer, PACE Chapters Health System

Marwa El-Menshawi, MD is the Chief Operating Office for Hope PACE. She is a triple board-certified physician, specializing in Family, Geriatric and Hospice Medicine. Dr. El-Menshawi's focus is on improving the lives of those affected by advanced age and serious illness through innovation in high complexity and value-based care. She has almost 20 years of clinical, academic and healthcare leadership experience.

Dr. El-Menshawi is a member of the American Academy of Family Medicine and the National PACE Association. She serves on the Mayor's Committee for Livability and Healthy Aging, focused on serving the community through advocacy and education, recommending and promoting programs and initiatives that benefit older adults.

Dr. El-Menshawi earned her Medical Doctorate as a Magna Cum Laude graduate from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and was awarded the distinguished membership into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honors society, along with multiple academic achievement awards including the American Medical Women's Association Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citation, the Merck Manual Award and the Peacock Teaching Fellowship. She completed her residency in Family Medicine and Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine following a Geriatrics Fellowship at Advent Health in Orlando, FL. She serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Geriatrics at the Florida State University College of Medicine and an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.

Andrew Molosky on podcast

Andrew Molosky

President and CEO, Chapters Health System

Andrew Molosky is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chapters Health System, the country's defining chronic illness organization, comprised of more than 30 different companies and programs, including the nation's largest nonprofit hospice network, PACE, value-based care such as CareNu, a Medicare Advantage plan, managed services organizations, technology solutions, advanced illness offerings, and more.
Established in 1983 as a community-centered, nonprofit entity, Chapters Health has grown exponentially through Molosky's innovative approach to healthcare, becoming a national leader recognized by Great Places to Work, Fortune, USA Today, and others for being a top place to work.
As a leading voice in healthcare, Molosky is routinely engaged as a consultant, speaker, and mentor. Molosky is modeling and leading across several industries concurrently.
Molosky has more than 20 years of experience spanning an array of geographies and organizations, including publicly traded, privately held, and nonprofit. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Toledo and his Master of Business Administration from the Ken Blanchard College of Business at Grand Canyon University, additionally holding his Fellowship from the American College of Healthcare Executives.

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