Steve Herber ’86, AA Assistant Financial Officer, plastic surgeon and CEO of St. Helena Hospital, says he is spending his days preparing for the surge, which has yet to materialize in north Napa Valley. This includes working directly with county health officials. “Never,” he says, “have I been so busy doing so little,” as all this planning is occurring while the hospital has empty beds and the OR is quiet without any elective surgeries. As a surgeon himself, this feels surreal. A creative initiative that he is leading is gearing St. Helena up to become an e-ICU bunker where they will virtually monitor patients at the White and Glendale hospitals to free up staff to put “hands on” more patients in the coming surge. A particularly bright spot in his life is “going back to medical school” with his daughter, Helena Herber (’23), who is back at home and studying remotely with the rest of her freshman class.
