Ayodeji Dee Adeyinka
Mental Health Counselor + SHARE Executive Board Member, Marlborough Hospital / 3W, 5/6/20
Tracy, Ayodeji, and Tabitha: Marlborough Hospital Mental Health Counselors
My background is in the military, preparing citizen-soldiers for war and helping to ease the fears of deployed family members about them going to the war-front. I thought I knew heroes. Our staff at Marlborough Hospital seem like regular people you see coming in, day in and day out. I’ll tell my grandchildren about this someday, about people who kept standing tall every day.
What scared everyone was when we learned we were going to be a COVID unit. Metaphorically, our huddles are like the trenches. At the hospital, we have to be flexible because day to day we get different information. Our people are dynamic. We have excellent staff. As staff, we say things. There was a lot of fear at first. Some workers contacted the union through me or by contacting the organizer. We’re lucky the union got involved. We all spoke to our manager at length about our fear and the SHARE organizer was able to listen in on our staff meeting with management. Now, we have a plan. I feel like we’re lucky that management listens. Nothing is set in stone. I tell my director that we are the front-line. In the military, the front-line wins the war. The objectives are being carried out by us. We have to be flexible. Management may have a great strategy down on paper but we execute the strategy and we should be able to re-tool as we go.
In the mental health field, it's unpredictable. The patients can turn on you in a minute. Because of mental impairment, you have to continuously set limits. Even when a patient is in your face, it’s about that calm you bring. This COVID really solidified what I always felt, that these are special group of people to be in a locked-up unit with. They come in, day in and day out, and selflessly give. It's remarkable.
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I am fortunate to be in the union which has an advocacy role and an oversight role. Advocacy for our peers and also to ensure that we're doing things well. As we become a COVID unit, it’s important that we have project-management. We need to set targets and have accountability. We need to have the opportunity to practice through simulations so that by the time you’re actually doing it you have it down to a science. In the military, the way you practice is the way you win wars—more victory, less death. Keep simulations simple and stupid. Let it become second nature. Always focus on continuous improvement. Nothing is static in nature. We have to check-in with ourselves periodically and ask, What are we doing well? What can we improve?
The motto of the Hospital is We're All Caregivers, from the janitor down to the CEO, the mental health counselor to the nurse. We’re all caregivers and we can all make a difference. I love America.
It’s remarkable what we've been doing. We have some of the best attention to detail, so we aren't going to spread this. I always say, you have to have patience. You have to love the job. For those whom much has been given, much is expected. You have to bring that compassion to bear. People who do well here are people who have that compassion. It’s a thankless job. All the sudden, a patient can lunge at you. We have to redirect. Patients may call us names, but we don’t take it personally. We look at the person, at their individuality. We brush off the names and the patients usually come back a day later to apologize. It takes a special person. You learn it. We have a lot of anxious situations. We have to stay calm to see things clearly. I’m grateful for every experience I go through. I try to look at the big picture of why I’m here.
I tell people who feel scared and don’t want to come to work that we have a union that cares about us. We have advocacy. We have people listening. Our managers listen and are continuously trying to get better. It’s participatory. We have leaders that are flexible. As we become a COVID unit, we know our leaders will be listening to us. If they don't, we have an advocate on our side that brings it forward to ensure our safety. The union can point out when we’ve tried protocols that aren’t working and can support us to try something new.
As far as my personal life goes, as an empty-nester, it’s really hard to not see my grandchildren. We have two three-year-old twins we haven’t seen since this started. My wife is a nurse and we have to be careful. I want to see them. It's been a month and a half. They’re two towns over, but we’re seeing them on FaceTime. It’s painful--that's the toughest part. I hope we get through this. I miss normalcy. I miss church. I miss singing at choir. I miss having a beer and talking with the guys and just talking about the day.
