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/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2022, ED

Navigating the Renovation

A major renovation and expansion of the Emergency Department and Main Entrance has required that we reroute patient traffic to a new temporary entrance called the Canopy Entrance. Follow along with the photos and descriptions below for a guided tour of how to enter the hospital.

After having pulled onto the Hospital Campus from Dewey Street, notice the parking lot to the left. It is marked with a “P” for parking. Pull in there and park.

 

The same parking lot can also be accessed from the Monument Ave. Extension entrance to the Hospital Campus. It is on the right.

 

The parking lot includes a shelter to wait for the campus shuttle. The shuttle runs 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday – Saturday. If you like, you can also walk to the Canopy Entrance.

 

To walk from the parking lot, follow the signs to the crosswalk. This is the first of two road crossings.

 

Signs continue to point the way. Note that the ambulance is for ambulance traffic only. Pedestrians must stay on pedestrian walkways.

 

 After a short distance, there is the second of two road crossings.

 

Once you have crossed the street, follow the path and fencing to the large canopy.

 

As you approach, you will see that masks are required.

 

If you took the shuttle, this is where it drops you off.

 

At the base of a ramp and once you reach inside, you will find friendly and helpful staff to guide the way or assist you with a wheel chair. 

 

Ascend the ramp on foot or with the assistance of a wheel chair and attendant.

 

Once inside, signs point the way to the service you need. Friendly staff members are available to check you in and provide assistance navigating. 

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How to Become a Mask Wearer

Long before COVID-19, online chat groups for people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) were filled with posts about how uncomfortable it is to wear a mask in public: not physically uncomfortable, a fact that was barely mentioned, but psychologically uncomfortable. For people with this condition or the lung transplant used to cure it, catching a cold or the flu could be deadly. They need to wear masks in public to help protect themselves from getting ill.

The participants discussed how awkward it is riding the bus in a mask, going to the grocery store in a mask, or boarding a plane while wearing one. They were mostly self-conscious that others would think they were ill or weak. Many would rather suffer the risk of getting fatally sick than put a mask on in a department store.

Now, we've all been directed to wear masks in public. Both Bennington and Wilmington's Select Boards have passed local mandates requiring masks in public places. This—along with distancing and handwashing—are crucial parts of returning to a more normal way of life. Suddenly, we are all feeling the psychological discomfort PF patients have felt for many years.

People usually have an interest in blending in. And, just like doing anything out of the ordinary, wearing a mask for the first time definitely feels like putting yourself out there. If we want to return to a somewhat normal way of life, masks are crucially important, along with frequent, thorough handwashing and keeping a distance from others.

Here are a few tips for making the leap from being someone nervous about wearing a mask to being a person who wears one regularly.

Do it for others. We know that people can spread COVID-19 as many as a few days before they get sick. Even if you feel fine, you could have COVID-19 right now without knowing it. At the same time, masks are far better at keeping sick people from spreading germs than they are at keeping people from getting sick. So wearing a mask isn't a sign of weakness; it's a sign of altruism. It's like saying, "I am not certain that I am not sick, so I want to pay those around me the consideration of limiting the likelihood I will infect them." Think of it as a badge of kindness.

Get a mask that fits. We know that masks are not completely comfortable physically. Getting the right fit makes a big difference in their "wearability." Cloth masks are readily available online and from local groups. The Green Mountain Mask Makers have excellent information and resources. If you can, purchase a few types in a few sizes to see which you like best. Buy enough of that type to allow washing between trips out in public.

Get a mask that you like. Once you have found a mask source and as long as you have a choice, pick one that you like. You can choose colors that match your wardrobe or that represent your interests, like camouflage. There are even masks that look like fashionable scarves when they hang around your neck. The sooner we start thinking of masks as part of our outfits, as essential and unremarkable as shoes or a belt, the healthier we will all be.

Try to quit caring about what others think. This one is hard. But one wise PF patient wrote, "I just don't give a darn!" Essentially, he shared that if people want to judge him for wearing a mask, so be it. Their opinions don't have a single thing to do with him. Many in the chat group applauded his confidence and vowed to adopt his attitude.

If we all do our best, soon the cultural scale will tip. Wearing a mask or not wearing one will cease to be a political statement. It will be normal. And thankfully, if wearing a mask in public, handwashing and sanitizing, and keeping our distance are all normal, going out into public again can be safe and normal too.

Donna Barron, RN, is the infection preventionist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

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