A Thank You!
Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the United States celebrated annually on every fourth Thursday in November. It began as a day of giving thanks for one’s blessings and of commemorating the fall harvest and its bounty. In most Thanksgiving celebrations, the Thanksgiving feast is the main event.
While many Americans gather around the table with families and friends for Thanksgiving and feast on roasted turkeys, mashed potatoes, and pies, countless healthcare workers choose to go to work. They don their PPEs and scrubs to spend their Thanksgiving holiday in hospitals, clinics, and health facilities providing care to individuals who need it. After all, those in the ICU, the ER, and the maternity ward can’t just put their needs on hold for the holidays.
Our healthcare workers have a selfless and unwavering commitment to keeping America healthier, allowing us to live happier lives. They have made incredible sacrifices and endured many trials, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Let us take a moment to reflect on the many things these true everyday heroes put in our lives to make us feel more thankful.
To the Sterile Processing and Distribution Technicians (SPDTs), who are sometimes referred to as the “heart” of the hospital, we thank you for keeping a safe and sterile patient care environment by implementing the highest standards and protocols when sterilizing and sanitizing medical tools and equipment. Your unique role and essential contributions to patient safety and quality care service have never been more important to maintaining the health of the public. For being the silent heroes working behind the scenes, you deserve the loudest applause and appreciation not just this Thanksgiving Day, but every day.
Thank you to the angels in scrubs in the operating rooms: the Surgical Technologists (AKA Scrub Techs or Operating Room Technologists or Surgical Assistants). No surgeon can have a successful career without their Surgical Techs. From passing the correct surgical tool and anticipating the needs of the surgeon, to giving a reassuring nod to patients, you foster a clean, efficient, and caring OR environment.
To the Endoscope Reprocessing Technicians who meticulously sterilize, care for, and maintain different types of endoscopes, thank you for making hysteroscopy, colonoscopy, and bronchoscopy possible without exposing patients to infections.
For championing the health and well-being of the heart, we offer our heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated EKG Technicians whose competence and skills are invaluable to doctors and to patients under their care. Your ability to effectively collect data and pick out irregularities and problems in a patient’s heart has a huge impact on improving the quality of life for millions of Americans.
To the ordinary yet extraordinary people–may you be a parent, child, sibling, friend, or stranger, we cannot thank you enough for your passion to make a difference in the lives of others. You heed the importance of learning Basic Life Support (BLS) and CPR and how these techniques can mean the difference between life and death for someone. With gratitude, we honor you for your bravery and selfless motivations.
We, the Altamont Healthcare team, are extremely thankful to all healthcare workers and professionals for giving us the opportunity to partner with you in your life-saving mission.
Here’s to a healthy and happy Thanksgiving!