Cathy Conway
Financial Counselor, 306 Belmont St, 4/28/20
Mabelle, Sandra, and Cathy
Several weeks ago, Financial Counselors, department leadership and SHARE organizers joined on a WebEx to discuss next steps for determining who would work from home and who would continue to work on site in order to make sure that patients were signing up for health insurance through the pandemic. It was the second time in several weeks that management had pulled the staff together to explain what was going on and to present the staff with choices about where they wanted to work.
"We've always been essential. But this time, it felt different. By giving us a choice, they were saying us, 'You're essential, but how do you feel?'‘“Cathy's worked at UMass for twenty-seven years, and the conversations the department's had during the pandemic have made her feel more valued than ever.
"Management jumped through hoops in order to get us the equipment to work from home and operate the call center from home. They went out on a limb for us. Mass Health has worked with us, too. We have more flexibility in how we process paperwork. That helps us to do our jobs. We have to make sure the patents are comfortable, and that their bills are paid, but we have to make sure the hospital is being paid, too."
Cathy is one of the staff who chose to work onsite, which her co-workers are really grateful for so that those of them who are immuno-compromised can continue to work from home a bit longer.
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"Am I afraid? Not really. We do as much through the phones as we can. We still go into patient's rooms. We have to wear masks and wash our hands but we still have to help people get health insurance."
For Cathy, another thing that's felt special is that, "The whole hospital system has pulled together. Everyone's passing out masks, snacks and water. They have two surge-nurses coming around and asking us if we want coffee or tea! Can you imagine? That may be no big deal to some people, but I think it's wonderful. It may be just a little tiny thing, but it feels like we're sticking together. It feels like we're unified. We are proud to be part of this organization!"