Transportation schemes keep both hospitals staffed during snowstorm
TEXARKANA, Texas — Getting around in the snow has been no small task for many essential workers in the Texarkana area this week, and that has been no different for hospital workers.
CHRISTUS St. Michael and Wadley Regional Medical Center sprung into action earlier in the week with detailed transport systems, utilizing four-wheel drive vehicles and travel schedules to get employees to work on time and in a safe manner.
Dr. Louise Thornell, vice president and chief nursing officer at CHRISTUS St. Michael said there was a system set up with a command center and schedule to map out where employees needed to be picked up from and taken to, as well as a hospital driver list that is maintained for people who are approved to drive their vehicles.
“We know that we have a lot of associates who are essential workers who live outside of town and outside of the city limits, so we encouraged people to travel in on Sunday, and we started making reservations with hotels on Friday (Feb. 12),” Thornell said. “On Monday morning, we started our transport service for associates who were either at the hotels or who lived within the city limits who needed assistance with getting into the hospital.”
These efforts have been backed by many employees from various departments stepping up and extending their work schedules to make it all happen.
Shelby Brown, director of marketing at Wadley, said there have been no third-party travel agencies partnering with them for the transport service, just dedicated employees.
“We have various employees with four-wheel drives, and we have a schedule for pick ups based on location,” Brown said. “There are employees from different departments. It makes for long hours for these employees but they are doing it with a smile. We have such a great group of folks pitching in.”
One of those employees pitching in is Wadley’s chief nursing officer, who wished not to be recognized for the story. But she is using her truck, as well as mapping out pick-ups and takehomes for each person.
Handling a large portion of this emergency plan for CHRISTUS has been Steven Johnson, manager of emergency preparedness.
“This is what I do,” Johnson said. “They’ve got plans for all types of things that could go wrong. We knew the weather was coming in. The emergency operations plan says to prepare by renting four-wheel drive vehicles. So, I went out and rented two to be prepared to transport our associates back and forth. We did that Thursday and started picking associates up bright and early on Monday.”
Bright and early for Johnson means 4 a.m. most mornings and as early as 3:30 a.m. on Monday, coordinating pick-ups.
“My hours are 8-5, but I’m a CHRISTUS St. Michael associate 24/7,” he said. “We don’t have a crew here that’s just a driver crew for associates. It’s just everybody pitches in. There’s not just one department. And that’s just what we do here.”
Many other employees have had unorthodox schedules, as of late.
Brown said many Wadley employees have chosen to spend the night at the hospital to ensure they are there to take care of patients.
One St. Michael employee who has a four-wheel drive vehicle saw a lab tech walking to a 4 a.m. shift earlier in the week, so she picked her up and brought her to work. She then told the night shift to keep an eye out if she needed a ride home.
Thornell said at one point Wednesday morning, she was told St. Michael had brought in 68 people via this service.
“I know we’ve impacted many, in both getting to work and getting people home,” she said. “I think it’s important too for us to recognize that our associates went above and beyond here. They got up early to come for their shifts to be ready to be picked up. And after their shifts, it could’ve been an hour or two hours later before they got home.”
It is all about teamwork — at both hospitals.
“I’m so proud of our Wadley family working together to ensure our patients have the care they need,” Brown said.