This is Sarah and I with our gear on whenever we have somebody coming into the clinic we need to see with symptoms of COVID. The patients are all screened at the door. If a fever, or symptoms of COVID, our nurses are notified to get them back to a certain room. We always have masks on to see all of patients since this pandemic started, but if they have symptoms, we gear up with everything else we have available to us. You don’t realize how hot and restrictive this stuff can be until you get to have it on the majority of the day.
This is my face after just the morning. All red, lines embedded in my cheeks. I have extra padding put in the nose section of my mask to help take the pressure off of my nose. It still hurts! Typical days are 10-12 hours a day at clinic by the time we get things done.
Sarah with her nurse Carly. There is a continuous rotation of putting patients in a room. Depending on what they are being seen for, gowns will go on, then off, back on, back off again. We are still taking care of all of the other health problems that come in as well, not just COVID. COVID is just throwing a gigantic wrench into everything, and the time involved seeing these patients, sanitizing, wearing our protective gear, and trying to keep them away from otherwise non COVID patients is a giant task in and of itself. So before anybody judges us, come on over and help. It is just much easier to complain. I am stating right now we have a great, and dedicated, staff. We are there to help, and I think we are all doing a fantastic job! We are all tired. We are all working long hours. Some days never seem to end. Then you get up the next morning and go do it again. Mayor Caron and the Watertown City Council have helped create a program called: Do It For Us! It is a means to get the word out for everybody to help us help you! Wear a mask! Stay at least 6 feet away from others who do not live with you! Wash your hands!
Each precaution may not be perfect at preventing spread, but they all add up to make a difference. Help us make a difference! By slowing the spread, we will help our healthcare workers. We can all do this together. We are there to help take care of you. We are asking you to help us! We can’t do it alone anymore. The first line of defense against this virus has to be from everybody else doing their part, not from us.
A typical day with my nurse Chris. She has been with me since I started at Brown Clinic 26 years ago. I would be lost without her!
We are a team working together. But, our entire clinic staff is working as a team to help during this pandemic. We still have all of the other health issues people have to be seen for, but when you now throw in COVID, we only have so many hours in a day. Our staff gets sick too. Even though we are doing everything we can to minimize the risk, when you are in the middle of it everyday, eventually we are going to get sick. If we can’t be there, then there is just that many less people to help take care of everybody else, and everybody suffers with that. We can’t work sick, and we won’t work sick. We are trying to take care of people, not spread it! We have strict clinic guidelines we follow if any of us come down with symptoms. First thing I do each morning is get a report on who is here, and who is not. What options do we have to have other people fill in, and where. Who is covering for who? Times when we may have had help doing things, we don’t anymore, and now we do it ourselves. That all takes more time…time away from actually seeing more people. So again, help us help you. If you “Do It For Us”, you are doing for yourself, and everybody else as well.
My scheduler Michelle sitting off in a far corner down the hall spending much of her day on the phone. When she does have to go in to schedule a patient before they leave, she is prepared too. We all follow the same guidelines. We all have a role to play. When any of us are gone, somebody else has to fill in the gap. We have so many contingency plans in place already when it comes to the number of staff we may have out, how many hours we can keep going, where we will see patients, etc. We have to had to adjust on the fly continuously. Everyday we have people that are rude, upset, and yes, they may be sick…I get it. We are doing everything we can. We have people call and complain that they won’t come in if we don’t mandate all patients wearing a mask, and the next call is somebody threatening that they will not come back if we mandate wearing a mask. We discussed having a mask mandate, but gave up on it when our people at the front door could not keep up with the abuse anymore. I GIVE UP!!!!! We screen everybody at the door. If they have symptoms or a fever, and they don’t have a mask, they are given one. If they refuse, then they can leave. We don’t have time for this. Families of patients, even other physicians, have called to complain about anything related to a mask. Do you not get it? Everybody thinks they have a better plan, yet the most simple one of wearing a mask can’t even be done!
So before everybody complains about how uncomfortable a mask it to wear, come spend the day with us, and then you can really have something to say about it. We are there for you. HELP US HELP YOU! DO IT FOR US!!! Like it or not, we are all in this together. We have had many people die from this already. Do the right thing, and take politics out of the equation. We don’t have time for this! It is time everybody acts like they care about somebody else. Prove it! I want to make sure everybody continues to do what I close every one of my blog posts with: Keep moving everybody! Let’s make sure we all get to keep moving!!!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day of New Streak: #616
