Dr. Jose David opened his own practice last year. After being part of medical groups for years, he was looking forward to running his own office and having more flexibility.

But just as he and his staff were settling into their new office, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Challenges soon followed, including a 30 percent decrease in patient visits, while the cost of supplies increased.

“The gloves are triple the price," David said. "The thermometers are four times the price. The equipment and supplies are just difficult to come by.”

It was tough for him and the staff. But a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program and donations from the public made the situation a lot easier and more manageable. By summer, things had picked back up, and patients were stopping in again.

“Obviously we kept all the precautions to keep all the patients safe and healthy, but we were kind of back up to normal,” said Jennifer Martin, practice administrator.

They were grateful to make it out OK and still standing. But some were not so lucky. According to a survey by the Physicians Foundation, 8 percent of physicians closed their practices due to COVID-19, while 43 percent reduced staff.

“The operation quickly changed, as you can imagine, and we had to react very quickly,” said Nick Rebmann, chief operations officer for Hudson Headwaters Health Network. He says the initial challenge was creating a safe environment for employees, while still seeing patients.

Rebmann says one way they’ve been able to do that is using telehealth.

“Early on, we end up converting about 3,000 patients to telehealth visits within the first five or six weeks of the pandemic,” Rebmann said. “That’s something they’re still focused on - switching more in-person visits to telehealth visits.”

With COVID-19 cases rising, Rebmann says this is a way to continue treating patients and keep the staff safe.

“Decompressing our health centers and performing telehealth visits allows us to accomplish both of those goals,” Rebmann said.

In addition to keeping an eye on COVID-19 cases, both Rebmann and David are preparing for the vaccine rollout when it becomes available. They’re hoping that will be soon so they can continue caring for their patients.

“I hope everybody survives this pandemic, and we’ll be there for our patients,” Dr. David said.