Sam Gallant and Payton Todd, cashiers at the Co-op Northlands, pose for a photo. The News has named all of Medicine Hat's frontline workers as the Persons of the Year for 2020.--NEWS PHOTO
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
When the COVID-19 lockdown happened in March most people went home, but frontline workers went to work in difficult circumstances making them more than worthy of the title “persons of the year.”
Hospital staff, carers in seniors’ residences, those working in grocery and drug stores, teachers and police faced new challenges with a heightened sense of danger from a virus they knew so little about.
Almost from the beginning there was news in Canada of outbreaks in seniors’ residences in some provinces and it was there that the first COVID related deaths were announced.
Jessica Boylan-Batdorf, licensed practical nurse at Good Samaritan Society’s seniors’ residence in Medicine Hat, says she did not feel worried about her own safety but felt very protective of the residents.
“I felt like a mama bear. We’ve got to keep this out of here,” said Boylan-Batdorf.
About 10 months later seniors’ residences in Medicine Hat have only had a handful of positive COVID cases.
Boylan-Batdorf says she feels very proud of that and the relatively low numbers in the city generally.
Staff wearing protective gear and a facemask created some challenges for senior residents.
“They can’t see us smiling … We’re definitely talking louder,” said Boylan-Batdorf.
It was tough too for the loved ones of residents who were no longer allowed to visit but there were emotional reunions in July when visits resumed.
“We love their family members. We are doing our best to keep them safe and healthy.”
Dr. Sean Hollingsworth, anesthesiologist at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, says in those early days of the pandemic there was tension as they talked of protection measures they needed. It was fear of the unknown. There was also some anger when they talked about shortages of personal protective equipment in the early days.
So far the exposure to patients with COVID has been less than anticipated and less than other parts of the province and country, he said.
Hollingsworth remembers a discussion about intubation, with the risks and measures that would need to be in place. He says they stepped up as a team and are now experienced and confident that the protective measures are working.
In the first couple of months the public was very vocal in support of doctors and nurses.
“The community was tremendous, cards from people you wouldn’t expect,” said Hollingsworth.
Recently there has been a sense of frustration among the public with some expressing anger over restrictions, he said.
Jill Denman, RN at MHRH, says it can be exhausting when people are challenging everything. Back in the spring nurses felt a sense of gratitude from patients.
Her strategy from the beginning has been protection for herself, other staff and patients plus imparting accurate information to assist with this.
Grocery and drug stores did not skip a beat in continuing to serve customers even when the initial lockdown was abruptly announced.
” It was stressful. Some customers were not taking it seriously,” said Sam Gallant, who has been a cashier at Northlands Co-op for a couple of years.
One of the few initial protective measures for cashiers was the use of disposable gloves. Some customers were critical of this while others thought cashiers should change gloves after each customer.
There were plenty of complaints about empty shelves. When the arrows on the floor were put in place, cashiers seemed to be the sounding board for customers venting their frustrations.
In those early days many customers thanked cashiers for working.
“Of course that made you feel nice,” said Gallant.
“It is not as frequent as it used to be,” said Payton Todd, also a cashier at Co-op Northlands. “It makes you feel really good. It recognizes the risk (you’ve taken).”
Plexiglass barriers have provided an added sense of protection but have brought challenges such as making friendly chit-chat more difficult.
“I feel like I am yelling through the Plexiglass,” said Todd.
There was one day in particular that stands out in Todd’s memory. A customer became upset, banged on the Plexiglass and made a nasty comment. She fought back tears and struggled with the thought of returning to work for her next shift.
The customer returned a few days later and apologized.
One of the biggest challenges for Medicine Hat Police Service has been keeping up to date with COVID restrictions.
Insp. Brent Secondiak says in general MHPS heard about new restrictions as they were announced to the public.
“We don’t get any pre-warning.”
The public called for clarification or to report what they felt was an infraction and expected police to know all the details.
“It’s been very polarizing, more than anything I have ever seen,” said Secondiak, noting that it has required a “mental shift” for police.
Some people feel MHPS is not doing enough and others think there is too much enforcement, he said.
There have been calls from people in the community who are “very distressed” because they can’t comply with the mask bylaw, said Secondiak. For some there is a physical issue and for others a mental health one.
Many of the phone calls to police are also based on what people have seen on social media, he said.
Const. Kyle Jalbert says the biggest adjustment initially was remembering to always wear PPE. Many of the calls he was responding to were mental health ones where people were struggling with stress. They keep this in mind all the time when dealing with the public.
Jalbert says he did not feel nervous about getting COVID because of all the protections in place.
For teachers the initial lockdown measures required a completely different approach. Within a couple of weeks teaching was online with students only visible on a screen.
Bryce Henderson, a Grade 8 teacher at the Dr. Roy Wilson Learning Centre, calls it “challenging and different” but discovered teachers could adapt and students are “extremely resilient.”
“My heart went out to veteran teachers,” said Henderson. Even exceptional teachers in the classroom who had little interest in technology had to face it head on and quickly.
The benefit has been a range of skills acquired that will be useful after the pandemic, he says.
Teachers also realized that for many students the “social” aspects of school are the best part and COVID had snatched this away. They have now found creative ways to fill in some of those gaps, too.
Nobody expected to still be confronting COVID 10 months after the lockdown. Frontline workers are still serving the public but all admit it would be great if the public still expressed gratitude.
