NOTE: Videos of the commemoration program that accompany this release are available for download here. Photos are available upon request. Media is welcome to photograph or film the iconic Johns Hopkins dome lit in amber lights after 7 p.m.

On March 12, 2020, the first patient with COVID-19 was diagnosed at a Johns Hopkins Medicine hospital. A year later, on the same date, Johns Hopkins Medicine commemorated the resilience, strength and hope of our community and our nurses, physicians, technicians, staff members and other personnel on the front lines, as well as those who kept operations going throughout the coronavirus pandemic. A moment of silence and a virtual remembrance program marked the occasion.

“Over the past year, Johns Hopkins has been on the front lines of this pandemic,” says Paul B. Rothman, M.D., dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “It has been a challenging year. I think first about those we have lost, including our patients, our own employees, relatives, friends and community members. At the same time, I am enormously proud of the dedication and sacrifice I’ve seen from everyone in our organization, and their willingness to respond every day to the challenges we face. Our physicians, nurses, staff, researchers and educators are doing all they can to care for patients, to protect our communities, employees and students, and to develop new treatments and strategies to defeat this virus. This ordeal is far from over, but I have no doubt that our institution will emerge stronger than ever.”

The systemwide moment of silence provided an opportunity for all to pause and to ponder about the events of the past year while commemorating the courage and sacrifice of the patients, employees, family members and community members lost to the virus. It was also a moment of gratitude for the profound impact we’re continuing to experience while emerging from this pandemic stronger together.

After the moment of silence, the virtual remembrance event offered an inspirational program that included reflections from staff members and patients, music from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and reading of the poem, March, written specially for the occasion by a Johns Hopkins Medicine employee. The event also included video messages from Rothman and Kevin W. Sowers, M.S.N., R.N., F.A.A.N., president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine.

“I’ve been in health care for more than 35 years and I can tell you that the pandemic has tested all of us in ways we could never have even imagined,” says Sowers. “While we help our world navigate the largest public health crisis of our time, our team members are also eye witnesses on the front line — experiencing the pandemic and the many personal and professional challenges it brings. But it has also brought us together to manage the pandemic as one Johns Hopkins Medicine, working together as never before. Despite the toll the pandemic has taken on everyone, no matter what, the Johns Hopkins Medicine team kept on going. And we are still going.”

As part of the commemoration activities, a special web portal was created to house videos, messages, articles, patient stories of healing, the poem, March, and information about COVID-19.

The iconic Johns Hopkins dome will be lit in amber throughout March in remembrance of the first anniversary of the pandemic.

Hospitals throughout the Johns Hopkins Health System honored the commemoration with events and activities throughout their campuses. Suburban Hospital had a virtual 5K run/walk/bike ride, the Sibley Memorial Hospital Foundation’s Young Professionals Board organized a car parade at Sibley Memorial and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, had a moment of prayer. In addition, Howard County General Hospital will be lit with amber lights and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center will host a small, physically distanced gathering at its labyrinth that will include a blessing and a song.