"I think we are celebrating a significant improvement and its something to feel good about," said Dr. Kurt Andersen, Genesis Health's chief medical officer. But it's been a long path to get to this point. In the Quad Cities, there was a small wave of new cases in May 2020 leading up to the Fourth of July. Then it built to new heights of daily cases in mid-November through late February. It put a huge strain on area medical resources. "It was almost at a breaking point," Dr. Olutade remembered. "I remember pleading with the community to help us fight this pandemic."