What was it like in those early days where there
was so much media attention on Albany, and
everything was hitting at once? What was that like
to navigate?
I think the worst part was just not knowing. It came
in such a fast way through a couple of funerals, and
spread so quickly, that it caught everybody
completely off guard. It also got in your head – all of
a sudden, you go from a busy office, a busy
community, all kinds of things going on to being in
confinement.
The other thing has
been the craziness of
all these shelves being
empty. We didn’t feel
safe in opening back
up because we
couldn’t get enough
supplies to clean the
office.
We’re
meticulous about that
kind of thing— like you
don’t use a copier without wiping it down, etc. We
have a Proctor & Gamble plant here that makes a lot
of those cleaning products, but there’s still a
shortage all over the country, probably. That’s just
another reason to say let’s hold up, let’s wait and
see if this is a second wave or if right now people in
other parts of the state getting what we had three
months ago, and they’ll get a handle on it too.
We’re going to continue to do what I think is in the
best interest of our team and our patients: keep it
running, keep it going well, but stay away from each
other.
Is there anything else you’d like to add about what
Early Cares has been doing during this time?
I do have a couple of notes about what we were
able to do with our funds in Blakely that I think has
made a huge different for that community.
The first thing we did, was we knew that there was a
need for food, utilities, rent, and those sorts of
things. We got onto that with C-Hope Ministries,
who are one of our partners in Early Cares. After
that was completed, where we helped 75 families,
we asked if there was another need. The churches
were opening back up, and we decided the best
thing we could do was to get the no contact infrared
thermometers, and we bought thermometers to
give to churches. That, I think, was extremely helpful
for those organizations, especially now. Early County
has had its own wave of COVID-19. We wanted to
help in the prevention, not only getting over it, but
helping with their financial situations of these
families. There’s a real need for housing in that
community, and we’re working on that as well.
It just takes a lot longer to
have impact in larger cities,
so it’s encouraging I think for
our team to be able to see
some of their projects
realized and the impact that
they’re having through Early
Cares on the community.
That keeps you going. They
have been taking the pride of
ownership of this initiative,
and it speaks well to that community. It also makes
you realize how you can have a big impact in a
community where people know people. It’s fun to
be a part of that, and to hopefully be able to take
that and turn it over to them at the end of this and
see them flourish.
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