On 31 January 2020, the first Swedish case of COVID-19 was detected. Since then, the past year has been marked by a pandemic. Sirona's CEO, Marit Vaagen, looks back on the past year and explains how Sirona has worked to strengthen healthcare and its team during the coronavirus crisis.
How would you describe the past year?
- It has been an extraordinary year that I guess we will all look back on and remember. Unfortunately, it has also been a difficult time for society as a whole. But Sirona's work to help strengthen healthcare has been as rewarding as ever, and even more urgent this year.
- As a company, we are emerging stronger from this crisis. As always, we have been 100% focused on delivering quality and results to our customers, and we have succeeded in doing so again this year. I am incredibly grateful to our entire team, including all the senior experts we work with. Together, we have done a fantastic job over the past year.
How do you create team spirit at a distance?
- We work closely regardless of the geographical distance. In addition, we have had digital coffee breaks, breakfast meetings and even dinners to maintain the team spirit. At this year's Christmas dinner, we actually baked gingerbread cookies over Teams!
- Strangely enough, distance can also bring you closer together. A highlight for me was when we had a video meeting with an important customer. An incredibly competent, smart and wise leader who ended by highlighting his beautiful dog in the picture. It created a fun and wonderful atmosphere!
What conclusions can you draw about Sweden's response to the pandemic?
- It is difficult to give a short answer on such a complex issue. Sirona has done a lot of work on the pandemic, both for authorities and other actors. As always, we are focused on analyzing the facts from many different angles and then drawing conclusions.
Can you name any missions?
- Among other things, we have made an important analysis for Vårdföretagarna that had a good impact in the media. It shows, among other things, that infection in society correlates with infection in nursing homes. It is an extremely important conclusion. Read more about the analysis here
- Our reports also dispel other myths surrounding the pandemic. For example, we have analyzed whether the type of nursing home, i.e. whether it is run by a municipality or a private company, has had any impact on COVID-19 mortality. Read more here.
How will the country move on from this crisis?
- This is also an extremely complex issue. It's important that all the facts about what happened are on the table so that they can be analyzed. We also need to analyze the differences between Sweden and the other Nordic countries to learn lessons. This is the key to being able to act correctly going forward. There is a lot to do, to say the least.
Has the pandemic had any positive effects?
- Yes, the most obvious thing is the extent to which everyone has embraced new technology and how easy, despite some difficulties, it has been to collaborate digitally with our customers. I see great efficiency gains in that. But it's going to be so much fun to work together on site when this is over.
How does Sirona see the future?
- We look forward to 2021 and hope it will be a much healthier year! But we are also aware that the pandemic will not be over just because it is time to turn the page. More time and work will be needed before this crisis is over. I hope that we will continue to work closely with all our customers, and that we will have the honor of getting to know some new ones!
