Americares braces for lockdown emergence
With states easing restrictions and lifting shelter-in-place orders, it may seem like a return to normal is looming on the horizon. But it is far from business as usual. Many workers across Connecticut are not yet comfortable riding mass transit or sitting in cubicles near coworkers. Even those anxious to return to work may not have the chance; as long as schools and day cares remain shuttered, working parents will be commuting to the kitchen table. Others may never see their jobs come back.
As we ease into this new normal, we must be even more vigilant to prevent COVID-19 infection from spreading. For two months we have endured the challenges of quarantine, but now the real challenge begins; every interaction with another human poses a risk of infection and we need to take precautions. We went into quarantine with constant reminders of how to properly wash hands and to stay 6 feet apart. Those messages are even more critical now as many venture out of homes for the first time in months.
This new normal is going to be an adjustment for extroverts, like myself, who thrive off the energy of others. For 25 years I have gotten up every day and gone to work, always looking forward to interacting with colleagues and partners. I miss my routine. I miss peeking my head into other people’s offices for a stimulating chat and informal exchange of ideas. And I look forward to the day I can travel again and see our teams in India, El Salvador, and other locations around the world.
The staff at Americares headquarters in Stamford is working remotely until at least September and even then, some distancing will be the norm. When the office reopens, we will need to take a close look at the physical space between workstations and may have to contend with a parking crunch as commuters choose cars over mass transit. The video conferencing habits we learned in quarantine may continue –and
Americares is there to help families in crisis. With more than 38 million Americans filing for unemployment we will see a spike in demand for health services even greater than the recession a decade ago, and we are planning now to meet that demand.
the small conference rooms we used to jockey for might sit empty.
With the Atlantic hurricane season only days away — it starts June 1 — we are reviewing our emergency response team protocols with COVID-19 in mind. Whereas we used to encourage relief workers to stay close together for safety or practicality, we now have to factor in the physical distance between colleagues on planes and in vehicles and housing.
The staff in our global distribution center in Stamford will continue working in rotating shifts to minimize contact among employees, donning protective masks and gloves, and keeping a distance from delivery drivers coming and going from the facility. Much of Americares’ work involves shipping medicine and supplies to health facilities — including highly sought-after protective gear and disinfectants — so keeping those supplies moving has been a top priority. With the new safety procedures in place we have delivered nearly 300 shipments for the COVID-19 pandemic to 12 countries — more than 60 tons of supplies to health facilities in places such as California, Boston and New York in between our usual shipments to Africa, Latin America and crisis zones including Syria and Yemen.
Americares is there to help families in crisis. With more than 38 million Americans filing for unemployment we will see a spike in demand for health services even greater than the recession a decade ago, and we are planning now to meet that demand. We, along with other nonprofits across the state and the country, will need to invest in technology to better allow for telehealth services and remote work. And we may have to give more thought to how our patients can access remote health services. Video chat won’t work for patients with flip phones. And certainly not for patients whose phones have been turned off because they can’t pay the bill.
I am grateful that my friends and family have remained healthy. And I am thankful that I am not only surviving but working every day to help frontline health workers responding to the pandemic. Still, there is a part of me that is waiting and hoping for this all to be over so things can go back to the way they were. But you can’t go back — we can only go forward.
We must remain highly flexible and maintain a continuous learning mindset in this new reality. We have to adapt to not only a changing environment, but to the changing needs of the families we serve.