“If you have a positive attitude, it’s going to rub off, it’s infectious. I come in every day with a big smile, and I am leaving at the end of my shift with a big smile.
I make it a point to remember people’s names because I think it’s quite important. I want to be a person who makes somebody feel good, even though they’re in a place they don’t really want to be. It just makes it more comfortable for them.
I started working in November as a Porter – transporting patients and materials – and I love it. I attend all floors on my rounds. We deliver mail, pick up and deliver charts throughout the entire hospital, as well as pharmacy orders to the OR and Cancer Care Centre.
I check that each unit has their equipment room stocked with stretchers, commodes, wheelchairs, IV poles, epidurals in maternity. Once housekeeping has done their initial clean on the equipment, they put it in the “soiled hold”, and then I take it down to the equipment depot to do a high-sanitized wash.
There’s also the Medical Devices Reprocessing Department for surgical equipment. We do pick up a couple times a day and those are in special bins. We take them to MDRD, and then they do their sterilization. Once that’s done, we pick those up again and deliver the clean stuff. And the blood bank will call and have us deliver units wherever needed.
I enjoy being a part of the hospital and making a difference. Without having the clean equipment and making sure the equipment rooms are stocked up, the doctors and nurses are not going to have what they need to take care of patients.
I wear a gown and shield mask when I’m picking up patients. If I’m just picking up equipment, I wear a mask throughout my shift and wear gloves. I’m constantly changing my gloves. I’m doing it more often than I would before COVID because any time I touch something new, I’m changing gloves and washing my hands. It’s just where we are right now, and I just keep a positive attitude.”
- Gloria, Porter, part of the health care team.