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Tuesday, March 24, 2020

babies and free coffee

I walked into the hospital yesterday for work and was immediately asked, "Have you checked for fever, or do you need your temperature taken?" by a nurse stationed just inside the entrance.

"Uhm...er...", my poised response, "I'm good, thanks"

Well, this was new.  I checked my company email and found that, as of Saturday, we are all to check our temperatures up to 2 hours before our shift.  No go is 100 F or higher.  There will also be nurses stationed at all employee entrances 24/7 if we get the urge to have our temps taken at any time.

This was news to my coworkers who didn't work the weekend as well since the email went out Friday evening and nobody reads company emails when away.  On a side  note, whenever I went past one of these stations, I never saw a temperature being taken, and the  nurses there looked similar to lifeguards at the pool - ready to spring into action, but rather bored in the meantime.

The hospital remains eerily quiet since the strict NO visitors rule.  The labor and delivery unit is totally closed off.  The staff go in and aren't allowed to emerge until the end of their shifts.  They do order food, but it comes to us as a batch order and someone meets the cart outside the door, clearly marked for no one to enter.

On the bright side, I was working front of house, learning to do the barista thing.  My mentor, Hui - pronounced "We" - is a fun woman about my age with a rather thick Chinese accent.  Guy came in for a single shot espresso, and as he reached for his payment, Hui quickly pointed out,

"Is free, someone pay".

She explained that all coffee products are free of charge for all medical staff.  Apparently someone donated a bunch of money to keep them all caffeinated during this COVID-19 chaos.

Classes for Meego are to start this week after last week's spring break, which was extended to last through today.  The university has moved all classes online for the remainder of the semester.  I texted him yesterday to confirm if his classes were starting on Wednesday as noted in an email we got.

"Supposed to, but I'm watching a lecture right now.  I think the professor didn't know that we're still on spring break".

I continue to look for silver linings.  I've begun bicycle commuting to work since the weather's nicer and most of the ice and snow is gone.  Motorized traffic is noticeably lighter, which is lovely.  I have two locks for my bicycle - one is quite secure, but heavy to lug around.  The other travels easier but is less secure than the big lug.

I chose to use the mediocre lock since the bicycle parking at the hospital seems a safe location, and there are cameras around.  And now, it also happens to be right outside the entrance where a temperature taking nurse sits at the ready 24/7.  A somewhat bored nurse, whose chair faces outside right where the bikes are parked, can see anyone messing with my Ariel.  Silver lining for me, anyway.



Today's task:  find our thermometer.




9 comments:

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

Abby working in a hospital right now seems like a good place to be should you get sick anyway. But also they are taking precautions seriously and do it! Great that you can ride your bike to work as well.

Morgan Cartwright said...

I love that someone paid to keep the staff caffeinated!
Our office was finally closed to the public yesterday.
I wish it would stop raining around here, so we could get outside. I wish I lived a little closer to work and I would so bike it. I do like the less traffic thing though. It makes driving through downtown easier.

Abby said...

Peggy, I am grateful for the hospital job. When we moved here, I figured I'd get some side gig to go along with my other side gig and happened upon this one. Who knew we'd be in a global pandemic two months later?! The bicycle commute is another plus.

Morgan, that was a thoughtful gift of bottomless coffee :)
Sorry you're not able to work, but glad you're free from dangerous germs for now.

Morgan Cartwright said...

Oh! I'm still working. Just the public is not allowed in. We had over 8700 Food Stamp applications in our online queue yesterday! Today it is only 5718! Just not my normal job functions! I think everyone is doing food stamp applications at this point.

Abby said...

Morgan, well that's better in your case - still working, but less contact with the public. Obviously tough on a lot of people.

ShadowRun300 said...

Coffee is what’s keeping me going at this point, so I KNOW having free coffee for the employees is a great perk for them.
Glad to see the weather is “nice” enough for you to ride to work. My gym at our apartment complex has closed down, so I’m looking forward to getting outside to exercise. I’ll be dusting off my bike soon! It’ll be even nicer with less traffic. :)

Abby said...

SR300, I thought the bottomless coffee was a thoughtful donation, too. Hopefully you can get out and ride on the quiet streets soon - fresh air and sunshine! Our gym is closed too, and I've been using some nearby playground equipment in its place. Fun! And not closed... yet.

Lori said...

I guess that's good they are checking temps, because who regularly checks their temp unless they're trying to get pregnant? Hope you find your thermometer and it's not the rectal one1 ;-)

Tee said...

Congratulations on becoming a homeowner (again!) That's exciting. Also nice that you don't have to pack up your things and move them again.

I agree this is a good time to do some extra learning. I keep saying I want to learn Spanish. I should look into that! :-)