ThankYouToLocalWorkers

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 | Thank You to Local Workers Advertising Section G6 U.S. in March, Karin went to work for Public Health— Seattle & King County on the COVID-19 response for populations experiencing homelessness. 1st Security Bank thanks: Lifelong.org What Lifelong.org does: Lifelong helps low-income people who are living with life-challenging illnesses overcome barriers that keep them from their best health. They provide medically tailored meals, connection to safe, stable housing and medical case management to help people meet their basic needs and successfully manage their illness. How that work has changed during the pandemic: Prior to COVID-19, Lifelong was producing and delivering more than 5,000 meals a week and 265,000 meals annually. Over the past month, they have doubled their production and delivery of in-home meals. This will protect these most vulnerable clients from the risk of infection, and protect the larger community from the risk of increased community spread. Meet a helper: Scott, a medical case management staff member, has adapted to connect with clients remotely. Many have mental-health barriers, so this pandemic has been especially challenging for them. As he chatted with one of his clients, Scott realized they both have a similar movie collection. The client mentioned he kept picking tear-jerking romance movies, which was making isolation worse. Scott suggested that they watch movies at the same time while talking on the phone so it would feel like they were together. Other help includes: • Quake Rugby has donated 89 pounds of nonperishable food items. • The Emerald City Mudhens have been assembling 500 grocery bags per week. • Local business Evo has had 44 staff members volunteer in the Chicken Soup Brigade kitchen. • Families have been coming in on a weekly basis to volunteer. • Individual volunteers have increased tenfold to support Lifelong during the pandemic. Washington State Nurses Association thanks: All of our nurses Here’s an insider look at how nurses are making a difference: I am a charge nurse in a critical care unit in a community hospital on the Eastside. On any given day, our hos- pital has up to five COVID-19 units. The patients we see in the ICU are barely hanging on to life. Our unit was already tightly knit, but this ex- perience has forged an unbreakable loyalty to one another. We have a book in our critical care unit that we use to track our patients. The day each patient ar- rives, they get a sticker and an entry that says where they came from. When they leave, we write a note about where they’re going. If they die in the ICU, we highlight their name in yellow. These days, our book is just pages of yellow lines. Our patients can’t have visitors anymore. The only time someone can see a loved one in person is a 15-minute visit to say goodbye when we know a patient is going to die. When a visitor comes in, we have to make sure they’re not carrying anything extra — no bags, no jackets, not even a water bottle. We help them get into a gown and a mask and gloves, and we take them to say goodbye. Caring for families is a major part of our work in critical care. But since families can’t visit, we needed a new way to reach them. Early on, one of our doctors created and set up a whole system so we can use iPads to bring people’s families into the rooms and provide them with support and care. We have an appointment schedule each day so every family that wants to can ask us questions, get support and see their loved ones. Every day, we set up iPads next to patients’ beds so families can talk to them or sing or pray. Most of our patients are on ventilators or under sedation, but even if they can’t respond it’s a comfort for the families. Sometimes they do respond, too. I’ll never forget how one of my patients tried to lift his head when he heard his wife’s voice coming from the tablet next to the bed. We were the first hospital with a serious onslaught of cases. Some shifts, we had three to four patients die. It feels like we’re Alice on the other side of the looking glass, like none of this can possibly be real. But we find moments to share and to comfort one another — a new Saturday Night Live sketch we can watch together on someone’s phone, or a check-in text on our days off. Every nurse on our unit knows we’re in this together, not just for our patients, but for each other. Ascend Hospitality Group thanks: Marissa Price Catering and events sales leader for Famous Dave’s What we do and how the pandemic has changed it: Headquartered in Bellevue, Ascend Hospitality Group (AHG) delivers hospitality and culinary experiences with restaurants throughout Washington, Oregon and Utah, including Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi and the Lincoln South Food Hall in Bellevue, Famous Dave’s BBQ inWashington and Utah, Stanford’s inWashington and Oregon, and Portland Seafood Company in Oregon. Some businesses are open for delivery and/or takeout. How Marissa Price helps support health care workers: We believe in hiring employees who embody the true nature of service. We do not just have employees; we have a team built on the true and instinctive principles of a service mentality. Marissa Price, catering and events sales leader for Famous Dave’s WA, is one of those team members who truly exemplifies our service culture. Marissa has been involved in supporting the AHG operations staff during this pandemic by delivering food to hospitals and other first responders. She saw firsthand the full magnitude of sacrifice medical professionals were providing and identified an area where we could help. Marissa called upon the company to step up and walk in the spirit of service to which we attest daily. She suggested a meal-match program to feed front-line workers directly. In the face of limited resources, we began a program to donate meals, most of which Marissa personally delivered. Today, we are proud to say the meal-match program is supported by our guests, supplier/partners and the general public in matching every donated meal with an additional meal to effectively double donations. Our organization is built upon grit, heart and an attitude of gratitude. Today, we salute Marissa for going above and beyond the call of duty to serve our communities in need and truly demonstrating what it means to put service above self. Washington State Medical Association thanks: All of our members How we’re operating: We are all working from home, maintaining business as usual in addition to our COVID-19 response work. How has our work changed during the pandemic? We are the largest physician professional or- ganization in the state, with more than 11,000 physicians, physician assistants, resident physicians, phy- sician fellows and medical students. Our mission is to make Washing- ton state the best place to practice medicine and receive care. If any- thing, that work has exponentially increased during COVID-19. A look at the courageous work of front-line caregivers: It would be impossible to single out just one of our more than 11,000 members to profile here. Instead, let us reflect on the collective “person” these front-line caregivers represent. Since the onset of COVID-19 in our state, so much has changed in our lives, routines and interactions. Even more has changed in health care, ranging from the way patients access care to the way physicians deliver care and more. But one thing has not changed. Our members — your health care workers — are still there for you every day, providing quality care even at the risk to their own health. Our state’s physician community has been steadfast in prioritizing public health over politics and business interests. They supported social distancing restrictions to keep people healthy. They advocated for delaying non-urgent medical procedures to preserve personal protective equipment. And they show up to work every day to treat patients who need care, no matter the cost. These people are everyday heroes Continued from G4 Lifelong.org is delivering thou- sands of meals to vulnerable members of the community. The Washington State Medical Association’s staff is on the front lines. Continued on G8 THANK YOU, NURSES Day and night, you’re at their side: Alleviating pain. Talking to families. Facing risks to your own health. Saving lives. Thank you, nurses, for serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic — and for the dedication and compassion you give every patient, no matter the circumstances. Join the effort: uw.edu/together