Recently I interview my mom, Wendy Powers.  She has been with the Cleveland Clinic for 20 years.  She has had a number of experiences with the clinic, but currently she, and many others, is facing the affects of covid-19. Here are a few questions she answered…

What is your current job?

I am RN chemo care coordinator.

What fields do you have experience in?

Previously, I worked in vascular medicine and interventional radiology.

Based on your knowledge, where do you think you will be in a few weeks with covid-19?

I believe in a few weeks there will be an increase in covid-19 cases, along with an increase in deaths. The hospitals will be at maximum capacity. We are all already planning for this time.

What has your work started to do differently since this virus has occurred?

Since this occurred we have done many things differently. The majority of Cleveland Clinic workers that have the ability to work from home have done so. First off, all major entrances have staff dispensing hand sanitizer. All employees are screened at the entrance, and their temperatures are taken. After this, they are asked if they have a cough, fever, diarrhea, or been exposed to covid-19. If they answer yes to a cough, they are given a mask. If they have a fever, they are sent to occupational health.  Another thing is all non-essential surgeries have been canceled, as well as all appointments that can be done virtually are. Not only that, but all group meetings have been changed to Skype meetings.  Lastly, the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic gives a daily update on the covid-19 situation.

What is your team specifically doing to prepare for this pandemic?

All of the care coordinators have been asked to take refresher classes to prepare for being “deployed” to in-patient areas throughout the clinic enterprise to care for patients with covid-19.

What if a worker refuses to take care of one of these patients?

They will be terminated. There is a zero tolerance policy for that.