Public health officials in the Bay Area were the first in the country to issue stay at home orders at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer for Santa Clara County who coordinated the initial regional response, is being honored for her efforts.
The behavioral health organization Momentum For Health has named Dr. Cody the recipient of their annual “Shining Star” award.
“I don’t think that we really recognized at the time that we were doing anything that was so momentous,” Dr. Cody said. “We were really just focused on: what was our job, what was our mission, how could we do it. And we had a sense of urgency and so we did it.”
Dr. Cody said the pandemic is not just causing physiological issues. People need to take care of their mental health as well.
“It all does leave us feeling very human and very vulnerable,” she said. “I just want to acknowledge it’s not just the pandemic but it’s everything else."
As someone working on the frontline, Dr. Cody has had to make plenty of difficult decisions and seen the impact of the pandemic up close.
“It was an enormously tough time. But what kept me going then and what keeps me going now is my colleagues across the county, and most especially the sense of coming together."