ThankYouToLocalWorkers

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | Thank You to Local Workers Advertising Section G2 Justin Hurst E very time Justin Hurst prepares for a 12-hour shift at work, he knows he’s going to the front line of the COVID-19 battle. Hurst, 38, a travel nurse from Dallas, works in the cardiac intensive care unit at the University of Wash- ington Medical Center in Seattle. Intensive care settings, with their heightened sense of urgency and situational awareness, bring out the best professional attributes in Hurst, who has worked in ICUs in Oklahoma and Colorado in addition toWashington. “You have to use a lot more critical thinking when you’re taking care of someone in that setting. Treatment becomes more urgent, more aggres- sive,” he said. Hurst signed on at UW in September, then took a few weeks of vacation in March. But when he returned to work, he entered a profoundly changed world. Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order had been enacted. COVID-19 cases were spiking nationwide, and social distancing was the new watchword. He said he was “a little anxious” about going back into a hospital, but felt safe as soon as he encountered stringent protocols governing personal protective equipment such as gowns, scrubs, gloves, face masks and eye shields. Because COVID-19 patients present such a bewildering array of symptoms —not just respiratory distress but also cardiac, gastrointes- tinal and neurological issues — all areas of a hospital are possible virus zones. He knows hospital workers aren’t the only people dealing with a new normal. He empathizes with family members of possible coronavirus patients because he knows they are often dealing with worst-case sce- narios nothing could have prepared them for. “This has been hard on a lot of families who feel we’re being too pushy [about isolation], but at the same time they are dealing with a lot of fear,” he said. For Hurst, the act of social distanc- ing has had at least one ironic result: “From an emotional standpoint, distancing actually brought people closer together. I’ve been in contact with family and friends in other parts of the country way, way more often than before.” Hurst worries about what he sees as undue haste in some places to return to a pre-COVID way of life, and he’s alarmed by reports of angry protesters demanding an end to lockdowns. “If I could tell them anything,” he said, “I would tell them to talk to more people in health care.” Kaitlyn Turner P eople save text messages on their phones for all sorts of reasons. Kaitlyn Turner saves texts from people she met for 30 seconds, and whom she may never see again. They’re messages of thanks from customers she encounters daily as a delivery driver for Canlis, after she reaches out to let them know she’s on her way to their homes with meals from the Seattle fine-dining institu- tion. “Best news I’ve heard all day!” one customer gushes. “Thank you for a creative meatless Monday!” another enthuses. Turner, 30, joined Canlis as a serv- er four years ago, and is now one of about 30 drivers delivering elevated cuisine to sheltering Seattleites. Her bosses, Mark and Brian Canlis, found a way to keep the restaurant’s whole staff (more than 100 people) employed during the lockdown by changing their business model. The restaurant sold coffee and bagels from a walk-up hut on the Canlis property. It of- fered drive-through hamburgers for a time. Canlis is now focused solely on pickups and deliveries, serving about 500 dinners each night, along with about 75 farm-to-table agri- culture boxes and a couple dozen cocktail kits. Turner makes about 20 deliv- eries in a typical shift, carrying an attitude of gratitude everywhere she goes. “I love helping people stay safe at home, while giving them some- thing to look forward to,” she said. “People don’t stop having birthdays or anniversaries just because they can’t go out.” For Mark Canlis, the pandem- ic has wrought only superficial changes in his business, none of By Al Kemp / Special to Thank You to Local Workers AL KEMP Happy messages from customers keeps Canlis server (and now deliv- ery driver) Kaitlyn Turner fueled as she takes meals to diners’ homes. The big (and little) things A closer look at the daily lives of four local essential workers ELAINE THOMPSON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Laurie Kuypers, a registered nurse, prepares to take a swab from a patient at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing station for University of Washington Medicine patients on March 17 in Seattle. Justin Hurst is also among the nurses battling the disease on the front lines. Continued on next page You haven’t stopped, so we can keep going. Your dedication connects our communities. Your actions deliver us safely. Thank you to Metro’s essential workers.