10 ways our post-pandemic lives will be better

Like you, I am struggling to get through these difficult times, doing the best I can to help my family, my community, my country, my world. I seek daily to do more.

Though I am fearful, I remain optimistic that much good can come after this coronavirus crisis is resolved and that we can go forward as a better society.

Let me share with you some of the potential benefits and gains I see.

1. Public health will rapidly develop. This crisis has shown us how poorly developed a public health system we have nationally and globally and will give us the opportunity to build a more vibrant and modern public health system.

2. The private sector will enhance medical technology. The crisis has shown us how ill-prepared we were and will give us the opportunity to grow and develop the private sector that services health care and health care providers.

3. Our workers will be better compensated. Clearly we need higher wages, better sick leave, better health care and better unemployment compensation for much of our work force. All workers must be made safe from future calamities.

And if that means paying more for services and products, we should all be willing to do so.

4. People will learn how to work from home and some will continue to do so. Companies and workers will develop optimal methods for work at home, enhancing productivity and reducing costs.

This will also positively impact transportation by getting cars off the road.

5. Teachers and parents will develop home-based educational methods. This will allow more didactic learning to happen at home and free-up more time for social growth and creative activities at school.

6. Universities will develop rigorous online learning programs. This will enhance the opportunity for students to continue higher education while working and fulfilling other obligations, reduce costs of higher education, achieve a nationwide system of educational excellence.

You can be a University of Washington student and still take that Great American Literature class at Yale.

7. We will establish a comprehensive system of computer availability for all citizens. This crisis has made it clear that all of us need easy internet access, to stay connected and to interact with others.

8. Politics will become outcome-focused. Government leaders who have become most prominent in this crisis are those who have stepped forward and taken meaningful steps to assist their constituents.

That lesson will not be lost. The leaders we elect and follow will be the ones who are most productive and who lead best.

9. Families will become more important. We are once again more focused on taking care of and being with our families, and we will retain that regained importance in our lives.

Strong families serve as the framework for a strong society.

10. We shall come together. This crisis has reminded us that rich or poor, no matter what ethnicity, sex, or belief, we are all vulnerable, at risk, and human.

The greatest result of surviving this terrible process is that we come together as a community, nation, and world.

Not everything will be wonderful, but we will work together more, respect each other more, and we may just love each other a little bit more. We must.

Join me as we struggle through this time of pain and challenge. Wave at me when you see me on the street while maintaining safe social distancing.

Better times are coming.

Dr. Richard Waltman had an office practice at Allenmore Hospital for 34 years, specializing in adult and geriatric medicine. He’s currently a primary care physician and consultant in long-term care facilities in Pierce and Kitsap counties. He’s lived in Gig Harbor since 1981.

This story was originally published April 4, 2020 at 12:00 PM.