Blue Water Woman--Summer 2020--Interactive

KEEPING
us safe
BY PATTI SAMAR
Just like in any profession, there are physicians who are good at their jobs, and then there are those who stand apart from the
crowd. Their lights shine so brightly, you can see them coming from far, far away.
Annette Mercatante, M.D., is just such a physician. Our community is beyond fortunate that, more than a decade ago, she
left the safety and comfort of private practice to tackle public health.
Though we might not have made note of it, all residents of St. Clair County reap the healthcare benefits of her leadership
and guidance. Sometimes, the brightest lights are shining underground – behind the scenes, if you will – where not everyone
can see them, but where they are needed the most.
And now, in 2020, her leadership has taken on new meaning during this worldwide pandemic. As this story is being
written, St. Clair County has less than 50 cases of COVID 19, no new cases over the previous few days, and no one in the
hospital with this illness.
We wouldn’t be here, righting a listing ship, if not for Dr. Annette Mercatante.
Throughout the early days of the pandemic, Annette Mercatante,
M.D. was sending her staff emails at all hours of the day and night. A
few members of her staff chuckle as they recall arising to emails sent at
2, 3 or 4 a.m.
The entire staff of the St. Clair County Health Department, under
the direction of Mercatante, who serves as both chief medical officer
and the lead public health officer, worked seven days a week through
the early days and months of the Coronavirus 19, also known as
COVID 19, pandemic.
“I’m relying on a village here,” said Mercatante, reflecting on her
nonstop work days and nights since the pandemic hit the nation hard
in mid-March. “I’ve got a great staff. It really does take a village, and
you have to know what sources to trust as you read and research and
look for answers.”
Though her days have been brutally long, and the answers have
been hard pressed to present themselves to her – “The amount of
decision-making is just daunting, with not a lot of answers” – there is
likely no place she would rather be than in her current position.
“I just felt called…compelled…to do this work and maybe, in some
strange way, this is why,” she said of her decision to enter into a life of
public service via public health administration more than a decade
ago.
“When you are trained in the medical profession, you learn really
quickly when you get out of medical school, that there is more
ambiguity than answers, so I’m comfortable in this environment.
“This is normal on steroids.”
A Generational Gap
Mercatante noted that anyone middle-aged or younger in the
United States has grown up during a very privileged period of time in
terms of public health.
“In our grandparents age, getting ill and dying from infectious
disease was very common,” she said. “Then we entered the age of
antibiotics and vaccines,” which, she noted, helped all but eliminate
disease that in prior generations had caused much illness and death.
“Every generation prior to the 1950s dealt with this all of the time,”
she said. “It’s the first time in our lives that we’re encountering this, but
this was a common event at one time.
“And that’s why I know it is going to be okay, because all of those
people before us moved on.”
Living as a Social Society
When Coronavirus 19 began infecting people, it quickly became
apparent that it was highly contagious and so social distancing, which,
for many people equated to isolation, became a key component to
stopping the spread of the disease.
Now, in the early summer of 2020, as the United States has begun
reopening its economy, individuals, families and friends are all having
to make decisions, sometimes on a daily basis, regarding the kind of
risks they are willing to take in order to remain healthy and unaffected
by COVID 19, to the best of their ability.
“It’s going to come down to each individual making those decisions
for themselves,” said Mercatante. “If you are the person with a child,
SUMMER 2020 BLUEWATERWOMAN.COM 5