Hospitals in the U.S. started preparing for COVID-19 as early as January, but it wasn't until Italian doctors started tweeting in March that they had to decide which patients would get ventilators that Michael Apkon realized the severity of the crisis.

On the latest episode of The Dose, Apkon, President and CEO of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, takes listeners on one hospital's journey through the harrowing past six months of dealing with the pandemic.

Apkon recounts conversations with former colleagues from his time running a hospital in Canada, and reflects on how the fundamental differences between the U.S. and Canada's approach to health care contributed to two very different responses to COVID-19.

Over the next few weeks, The Dose will be covering how the pandemic and other health care issues are playing out in the 2020 Presidential election. Listen to today's show, and then subscribe wherever you find your podcasts.