If you’d asked Dawn French thirty years ago what she planned on doing with her career, she probably wouldn’t have told you working in a hospital in the midst of a global pandemic. After graduating from URI in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, French began her career working in TV news. When she got married and had her two daughters, she decided to take a break from television. It was then that, thanks to her networking skills, she discovered a position opening at White Plains Hospital in the city of White Plains, NY. “I took a job as a community outreach and marketing coordinator at a time when the hospital only had three people in its communications department,” French says, “and I was one of the three. I worked my way up in the ranks again until I decided to take a break, but I stayed in touch with the CEO of White Plains Hospital during that time as I was getting my Master’s of Public Health. One day a couple years ago, the CEO reached out and offered me a promotion. I’ve now been in my position for about 10 years.”

Now Senior Vice President for Marketing, Communication and Community Relations at White Plains Hospital, French’s extensive list of responsibilities include overseeing all forms of marketing for the hospital (including the hospital’s social media accounts), as well as handling media relations, governmental affairs, and community outreach. While every day in such a job holds something different, no one, including French, could have foreseen the massive shift in daily life caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. With such proximity to New York City — the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. — Westchester County found itself in the crosshairs of a viral contagion. Starting with the first recorded case in New York on March 1, 2020, followed by another case recorded in White Plains’ neighboring town of New Rochelle two days later, French began to pick up on signs of how distressing the outbreak was becoming to the staff of White Plains Hospital. As cases continue to rise two months later, French notes that the hospital and all its staff are feeling the pressure. “The days are pretty much nonstop,” she says. “I’m a member of the leadership team, so we meet every day to strategize and figure out communications. On March 6, one of our medical staff tested positive for COVID-19, and the leadership team sprung into action to make sure the community and staff were protected.” 

French and her team worked to develop a hotline for members of the local community to call and ask questions about getting tested and screened for coronavirus before showing up to the hospital, thus exposing less people to the virus. She’s worked to create signage and messages encouraging people to stop and call the hotline before deciding to go to the hospital, and her days are typically spent coordinating internal communications to convey important information to the hospital’s staff. Despite all of this, however, French notes that her job has mostly been to provide a little brightness in the days of White Plains Hospital’s clinical staff, who have spent countless hours working to combat COVID-19. “We help everybody to do a little exhale and notice the good things,” she says. “As of late April, we’ve hit 500 patients who have been discharged. Whenever a patient was being discharged, we would have them put their name on a wall of butterflies. We put together a video montage of all the patients who have conquered COVID-19 and gone home, which we posted to social media, so everyone can see how the staff is making a difference and saving the world.” 

French admits that the days are long and taxing, as her new normal consists of working six days a week, but she’s adamant in crediting everyone’s hard work and ability to rise to the challenge of our times. She also notes that, to this day, she relies on the skills she gained from studying journalism at URI to help her succeed in the workplace. “I specialized in broadcast journalism,” she says, “and one thing I remember is learning to get to the message and telling the story as concise as possible. Coming from my background working in TV, I appreciate working on a deadline. We have news updates coming in every day, and every day we have to synthesize them. It’s really the ability to take the same message and slice it in a specific way for each individual audience, which is something I first learned how to do at URI.” 

Knowing that many do not work as close to the virus as she does, French urges people not to panic but to still understand the pandemic’s gravity. “I think it’s really important for people to know that this is real,” she advises. “I hear all the time from family and friends that people don’t believe it’s real, but it’s real, it’s serious, and it’s a scary virus. Once we get out of this, and everyone returns to their new normal, we have to remain vigilant and stay aware until a vaccine is developed.” While the version of herself from 1993 would have never imagined she’d be where she is now, French firmly believes that she couldn’t imagine not working in healthcare communications. “I find my work super gratifying because everything is so different,” she says. “I’m not saving lives in any way, but the work is important in supporting those who do. We really make a difference in the marketing and communications department.”

~Written by Chase Hoffman, Writing & Rhetoric and Anthropology Double Major, URI Class of 2020