“A lot of people don’t think we’re high-risk or frontline. I disagree with that because we do go into what they call the ‘hot zones’. If something needs to be taken care of, then we have no other choice but to go in there and fix it. I kind of get hurt when I hear people say that we’re not considered frontline workers.
I’ve worked as a Carpenter at our hospital for 30 years. We take care of all the locks and keys within the hospital site and remote buildings. We do most of the painting, some of the cabinet work. When there are floods, we have to open up walls so the plumbers can get in there to find what the problem is, and then we’ll patch them back up. We also take care of any leaks within the hospital from the roof or plumbing.
With COVID, we’re a lot more careful. Some areas we’re hesitant to go into just because of the risk that’s involved. We’re a lot more knowledgeable when it comes to taking care of our tools when we are in an area like that, when it comes to disinfecting them. We’ve always done that, but even more so now.
To stay safe, I stay within my bubble, which includes my kids and my wife. We do the necessities, go shopping when we have to, stay in touch with family and friends over the phone or through Zoom. That seems to be the best way to stay up on things and to stay social.
I’m not just a Carpenter. I’m part of the trades, or even Plant Services. We keep the hospital running when it comes to heat, water, the toilets, the electricity, security with the locks, and even cosmetically.
Even the air filtration systems fall onto Plant Services. There are some different things that they’re trying with air purifying units. We haven’t got any feedback on it yet, but we’re hoping that it is going to be positive.
When I tell people where I work and what I do, they have no idea there’s even that big of a team working in the hospital.”
- Wayne, Carpenter, part of the health care team