Ms Sandra Koh is the Chief Operating Officer of the 1000-bed Changi General Hospital (CGH) and is also concurrently the Chief Operating Officer for Biomedical Engineering Shared Services in SingHealth. In CGH, she is responsible for managing end-to-end operations of a regional hospital leading a team of 1000 staff, integrating operations to provide timely and accessible care to patients. She also oversees strategic partnerships, patient support services, operational support, emergency planning, workplace safety, supply chain and infrastructure development. Prior to CGH, she was the Chief Operating Officer of National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) where she was responsible for the operations of a national specialist centre, building strategic partnerships with hospitals geographically located across the island while overseeing multi-functional teams in clinical operations, support operations, corporate communications, philanthropy and infrastructure capacity planning. Before NNI, Sandra helmed the Operations Division at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) managing end-to-end operations of 12 critical patient support departments in the then 1600-bedded hospital.

Sandra has 15 years of experience in public healthcare in management, operations and administration with a track record in developing seamless processes as well as integrated operations to improve efficiency and patient experience.

Her early career was in the aviation industry in airport operations, conceptualizing new services and facilities to enhance the passenger experience at Changi Airport.

A graduate of the National University of Singapore with an Executive Master in Business Administration (MBA) at INSEAD, Sandra is also a recipient of a number of awards including the National Day Award – Commendation Medal, Merit Award for Most Innovative Project and Innovation Awards from government ministries.

Presentation Synopsis
Lessons Learnt From a COVID-19 Cluster in a Hospital

Singapore has learnt important lessons with the outbreak of clusters in the community. There are still lessons to be learnt with each outbreak particularly when we are dealing with patients in a public hospital. When Changi General Hospital experienced its first outbreak, we were met with operational challenges while running the hospital 24/7. While we activated our contingency plans and ringfenced the outbreak successfully, there were lessons we learnt as we evaluated our experience and analyzed our responses. During this crisis, one of the greater lessons is to have an adaptive resilient workforce that is able to keep moving forward. Up-to-date information and communication are also valuable tools in crisis management. Developing resiliency strategies to mitigate emotional stress will help support the psychological well-being of staff. In challenging times, healthcare leaders and staff must lean in on their collective strengths and continue to lead through the crisis.