The staff at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck faced the full fury of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April. Bergen County was the site of one of the earliest and most deadly outbreaks in the country, which meant that an enormous effort was necessary to meet the challenge. And the danger.

Among those who contracted COVID-19 in those early, frightening days, was Mike Maron, Holy Name’s chief executive officer. Maron, who has recovered, recalled the work at Holy Name in the latest edition of NJBIZ Conversations. And his description of how the staff responded suggests why the hospital was named as one of the Best Places to Work in New Jersey during a virtual award ceremony held by NJBIZ on Sept. 17.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the staff, the commitment, the innovation that occurred here. What no other organization in New Jersey did, or actually anywhere quite frankly, is we added 100 critical care beds in 14 days. That is an unprecedented feat,” he told NBIZ editor Jeff Kanige. “And these weren’t just regular beds. This wasn’t taking existing space and converting it, taking a regular med surge bed and converting it to critical care. This was going into our large auditorium and building from scratch.”

Watch the full interview here.