Thank you.
The common expression of gratitude though just two words in length carried the weight of a lifetime of thanksgiving for emergency medical workers, first responders and employees of DHR Health on Thursday.
(Joel Martinez | [email protected])
That’s when turkey and all the trimmings were on the menu for the more than 100 such individuals who benefited from the gesture organized by DHR Health administration and staff.
In addition to the paramedics and emergency medical technicians who were invited this Thanksgiving to grab a plate at the hospital’s main campus in Edinburg, Scott Shore, director of emergency medical services for DHR Health, said nurses, social workers, admission clerks and security guards were not forgotten.
“It’s a thankless job and to know someone is thinking of them — for a little bit of normalcy on a crazy day — I think they really do appreciate that,” Shore said Thursday. “Every single one of them was very, very thankful. … I’m proud to have the guys in EMS who work here in the Valley.”
Shore credited Alonzo Cantu, who serves on the hospital’s board of managers, and DHR Health Chief Executive Officer Dr. Manish Singh, for their “graciousness and hospitality” in helping make the event possible. Elena Ortega, a charge nurse at DHR Health, and Emergency Room Director Mariam Hammad were among those who Shore also recognized for assisting in the effort.
The event of course observed social distancing requirements as preparers and attendees wore masks. Many picked up their plates and went right back to work; some EMTs ate in their vehicles, which is a common occurrence.
Coming at a time when such precautions and circumstances are necessary, Thursday’s gesture was especially meaningful given the normalcy Shore referred to proving elusive in a year plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With more than 3,000 dead from the disease in the Rio Grande Valley, tens of thousands infected and hospitals so overwhelmed with patients and bodies that state-run alternate care facilities and refrigerated trucks were a necessity during the summer, it stands to reason that 2020 was a particularly tough year for emergency personnel. Some of whom may have been the last people COVID-19 stricken individuals interacted with before being hospitalized.
The burden of such times, which are unparalleled going as far back as the Spanish flu more than 100 years ago, is carried on the already-burdened shoulders of first responders and front line workers.
Even encouraging people to call for help can be a challenge in 2020.
(Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Acknowledging that some remain apprehensive about visiting a hospital where COVID-19 patients are cared for, Shore reminded the public they should still call 9-1-1 if suffering from a heart attack, stroke, or other emergency.
“The one thing that I want to make sure we get out, that even with COVID and all the things happening today, please, please, please do not be afraid to call 9-1-1 for any kind of emergency,” Shore pleaded.
As of Wednesday, there were 191 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Hidalgo County.
“With the pandemic and what’s going on today, there’s no playbook for this, we are all writing this as we go,” Shore said. “The paramedics, the EMTs, police officers and fire, they work every day. They don’t get to say, ‘I don’t want to do this because we might get sick.’ They have to take care of us.”
In a sense, DHR Health’s EMS director suggested that Thursday’s event was another way for the institution to take care of them.
