“I'm a front door screener and I started working in this position at the start of the pandemic in February 2020.
As a screener at the hospital, I greet people, welcome them and make them feel a little less nervous about coming into the hospital.
When we first started out in the pandemic, it was just one person sitting on a chair and no social distancing with patients. We went to the union asking for more protection. We now have plexiglass which makes us feel much safer. And we also now ask that people change their masks when they come in. It's for the patient's protection as well as our own.
I was talking to one patient and asked her if there was anything she would get out of this pandemic, what would it be? She said "I hope that people realize what's important in life is your family and your friends". I feel the same way. We need to make time for our family and for our friends.
What I find challenging right now is that people are getting different information from the news and it might not be what’s happening in health care. So people have been told that it's up to you whether you wear a mask or not going forward. But coming into the hospital, it’s still a requirement to wear a mask. Most people are good about it once we explain that this is the protocol in health care.
I want people to know that we're all trying hard. At the front door, we have that empathy for people and we’re just trying to do our best with the tools that we've been given.”
- Treva, Clerk/Front Door Screener, part of the health care team