I learned from my wellness coach to change ‘should’ to ‘choose.’ I choose to do this. That really helped because I felt like I should be prioritizing my son, my health, my work — I should be doing more. The coach helped me in trying to find a balance. If I’m not my best self, then I can’t be the best for my team or my family. Before having my son, I had the luxury of working out anytime and now it’s like, this is my lunch time and I’m choosing to be working out. I do Monday check-ins with my co-worker and walk the trail around our facility. I invite my co-workers to walk with me or go to Zumba. We can choose to take good care of ourselves and model that for others.

The one thing that surprised me when COVID-19 first hit was that everybody was onboard to do what was needed. In the beginning we were collecting PPE from closed clinics, moving it to be sorted and redistributed. Even though it wasn’t a normal part of our work, people did what needed to be done.  It is concerning sending our drivers into clinics to collect labs and deliver mail — and it’s different to wear gloves and masks — but they do it without issue. Even our sick calls are down. People really want to help. We’re a close-knit, high-functioning unit-based team. I’ve been blown away by our team’s commitment during this time.

Our goal is the same: to keep everyone safe. Managers and employees from the nurse treatment room, lab, radiology and pharmacy worked together and kept making refinements to meet our patients’ needs. For example, we moved COVID-19 testing into the nurse treatment room when it became apparent that patients needed additional services from lab, pharmacy and radiology. It helped that we had a strong foundation in the Partnership and the tools of unit-based teams. We all faced the challenge from a different perspective, and we came up with a resolution pretty quickly. It was the epitome of collaboration; it was fantastic! Joy in work for me is my motivation to turn a patient visit into a better experience through empathy and connecting with the patient.

I’ve been very proud of how well the Airport Way Regional Lab has handled this situation, and how all the departments are doing their part. My group is preparing totes for the EMTs to do onsite testing in nursing homes. I feel safe that my health is not jeopardized, and Kaiser Permanente is doing everything it can do to maintain safety. When this first started up, the director walked around and asked if people were feeling good and safe. I do miss seeing my grandkids, going out in society and going to church, but I stay optimistic. This country has been through a lot of tough times, and we will get on the other side of this.

All of the fears my team has are the same fears I have. I try to connect with them and provide them with feedback and information just as I would like to hear it. What would make me understand the situation better or bring some understanding to me? I try to address their fears. Outstanding communication has been key to my employees feeling safe.

Our staff has had some real fears. The communication that the staff was receiving was not being delivered in a way that resonated with them, so we turned our break room into a mini-command center. We broke down some of the information and clarified processes by mapping them out on a white board.  We are also setting up a ‘thank you’ board so we can recognize each other. We learned the correct way to don a mask — it’s these little details that were contributing to the fear. Our team has been cross-training prior to this, and they’ve really stepped up and covered where they’ve been needed. I’m really proud of all of our staff.