Tameka McDaniel Vasquez
Financial Clearance, 5/19/2020
I personally am doing ok because we’re working from home right now. Once we have to go back in to the office it’s a different story! I’m actually really happy with the way my team is progressing. Back when I started, five or six years ago, some of us wanted to work from home but it couldn’t be done because we did so much by paper and it just seemed like too much of a thing. But nowadays everything is electronic. We’re working from home and it’s going well, really well. From what I hear from my coworkers, a lot feel like they concentrate more, they are able to focus a lot more, they don’t have the distractions of the office, and all the getting there and back of course. Even those who didn’t want to work from home, who didn’t think they could handle it or were intimidated by the technology – those people seem like the ones who are liking it the most now. A few can’t wait to go back, but most are happy working from home.
We’re doing things to make it normal-feeling, too. At 8:30 we have a quick big team huddle, then at 8:40 our “pre” team meets up, all on the Webex. My supervisor Christina tells us what the numbers are for the day, how much money is in the queues that we need to make sure we go get so the hospital can get paid. We’re able to say hi to each other, hear each other’s voices, thank each other for helping out yesterday. And we’re doing other things to keep it light and fun, like a couple of us on the employee engagement committee do Trivia Thursday. Right now we can’t do prizes but it’s still fun – it gives us something to think about during the day. And one thing that’s new is now we can include the teams at Health Alliance and Marlboro too, so it’s bringing us together. We have a Sharepoint site where we post pics of our dogs, our animals, our kids, our new WFH setups and other things to share with each other during this time of isolation. And every day at two o’clock, our supervisor sends a positive quote to keep everybody feeling good and strong – people send their favorites to her.
What’s amazing me is I feel like we’ve really come together during this time – I feel like we’re more together now than we were when we were physically together! I can’t really explain it – I don’t know what the science is behind that, but it’s definitely true. Maybe because we’re isolated at home it makes us want to reach out and connect more? I think that just goes for our team, when trouble occurs we pull together and we work more as one. We should be able to work this well together all the time. I mean, we are really doing good work right now, we’re like a well-oiled machine. Work is flowing, no one is holding back, everyone is pitching in to get it done no matter what their assignment is, everyone’s just like, lets get that queue down to zero! People are helping without even being asked. Like I’ll get bogged down in something, go back to my list, and see someone else is already working it. That’s awesome. I mean, in the five years I’ve been here I’ve never seen it so smooth. What’s even more amazing is we have a person who started brand new during this whole thing. The team has been reaching out to her, I told her about the union, she’s getting quite a welcome, people have been helping her so much.
For my work, we’ve been pretty steady. I do the emergency visits, so that’s increasing as people start to come back for the non-COVID stuff. And on the elective side they are starting to see a slight rise, but they are still steady because of work queues and referrals.
Management has been really open, getting us what we need – I think another thing that is helping is all the extra support. We’ve been surveying our coworkers to see what questions and issues they have about going back into the office. Nicole, Lori and Lisa are awesome union reps, they have been helping me reach out to people to get everyone to respond so everyone is included. We’re going to meet with management at the end of the month to address those concerns – things like circulating the air, keeping the bathrooms clean, testing people so we know we’re as safe as possible, etcetera. We know they don’t have all the answers, but it’s good to be talking about these things.
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There really is a lot of anxiety about us going back. People are really worried about all the details, like about their desks, how close together people will be, the microwave, the bathrooms, the elevators, wearing masks and the overall cleanliness of the building. That includes pretty much everyone on the team from what I can tell. We’re wondering if it might just be easier and safer for us to stay home, since things are going so well right now. If it ain’t broke, right? We don’t have all the individual productivity measures that other departments like Central Scheduling have, but we could definitely figure it out. As long as work queues get down to zero and the work is getting done, that’s good right? Our job is making sure the money is getting in the door, and that our hospital is getting paid for all the good work we’re doing. It’s an important job and we’re pretty serious about it. I know two other people who recently transferred from this department, and in their new jobs they had to get redeployed to the floors – I’ll admit I’m glad we had enough work here that that didn’t have to happen to us!
The thing I’m really going to remember about this time is the way our hospital has all come together. The unity of the hospital, and all the people in it. And the union too. My coworker Nicole wasn’t ever able to make union meetings before because of her schedule, but she’s able to attend now because we have been able to do it online. Those rep meetings on Zoom have actually been really great – seeing all those faces, hearing what else people are doing and going through. I used to be in patient care for years, so I really appreciate the job that every one of those people is doing.
I have heart and lung problems, myself, and pretty bad asthma, so I’ll admit I’m pretty worried for my own health. My mother-in-law has heart problems, too, so I’m worried about her as well. But I’m worried about the hospital and everyone’s families, everyone in harm’s way. This isn’t a one person thing. That’s what’s been so great, is seeing all these different groups of people coming together for the better of everyone. That’s why I got into health care. Seeing that companionship, that makes me happy to be a part of this organization. This is a new thing we’re facing, and every is just doing the best they can right now.