By Jojo Melendres, RN, CCM
Communications Chair for UC Davis Staff Assembly, Health Chapter
The covid pandemic marks a historical period in human history with many negative outcomes and claim on countless lives across the globe. We all share a piece of this history and the memories could linger forever in everyone’s heart, mind, and soul. What piece of story can you share?
This is the covid vaccination event held at Samuel C. Pannell Meadowview Community Center in Sacramento, last March 26, 2021. It is a public vaccination event run by the local community leaders including councilwoman Mai Vang of Sacramento District 8. UC Davis healthcare providers and staff were very active in the scene. It is very heart-warming to learn that this fight against covid is 100% volunteer powered!
What have we gained during the pandemic? The war isn’t over yet at time of this writing. I always like looking for any silver lining in any problem or issues confronting our human lives. There are many to consider and maybe worth pondering when you find a quiet time to reflect on things that are happening right now.
First, any threat to the dignity of humanity is painful, and untimely death is an extremely unbearable experience. Being in the frontline of healthcare, we experienced a new war zone combating disease and pulling innocent souls from the brink of light at the end of the tunnel. Our doctors, nurses, and everybody else running the great healthcare machinery are the new heroes to be thankful for. We cannot express our gratitude enough to all citizens providing care to patients.
Second, everybody has become extremely resilient and accommodating to the new norm of the virtual world. It is a way to mitigate disease spread and avoid sad demise. The world sought all possible means to keep the show running despite all odds – the goals cannot be highlighted better than these: to prevent hunger, treat the sick, comfort the aged and the very young; cultivate continued faith in the religious world; maintain peace and order; run the newsroom; and even entertain the world under isolation via social media. The pandemic also made the world cooler and cleaner– the greenhouse gases lowered down when we all worked from home. We thank everyone who continued the industry of healthcare running via remote means. Our leaders made this all possible to conduct business with physical distancing and remote access. How wonderful has the internet of things saved us in the modern world.
Lastly, we all proved that the most valuable of all things are not the ones that money can buy. They are the relationships we have with our loved ones who will communicate with us in times of quarantine and sickness. It is the volunteer effort that people give to join community events like this in building the herd immunity the world is aiming for. It is the value and respect for human lives that we practice social distancing, masking, remaining at home during lockdowns, and the government providing financial support as much as it could to the hard-hit families economically. Cleanliness and hygiene have made it to top rank in the daily practices that we do. Disease lurks in the untidy world. We cannot be overcrowded nor ignore stale air in any work environment. The conference table is always busy and the meeting room door always open to keep the discussion alive and vibrant about making changes for the better world. We are all in this together and teamwork brings success to any battle ahead of us.
We are UC Davis Health, and we are willing to lead the frontlines all the time, and against all odds.
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