In April 2020, less than three weeks into California’s statewide shelter-in-place order, the Healthforce Center at UCSF surveyed alumni of the CHCF Health Care Leadership Program to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their patients, their workplace colleagues, and themselves.

The survey asked about the behavioral health needs of patients and staff and the creative steps their organizations are taking to navigate this uncharted territory. One hundred thirty-nine alumni completed the survey, providing a unique glimpse of how California’s health care system was responding to the crisis.

This summary captures selected responses to three key survey questions, which are presented here in the words of survey respondents. Supplemental video interviews of four respondents can be viewed on The CHCF Blog.