BOSTON — While so many people are thinking about reopening, remember there are doctors on the front lines who never closed - many of them who put themselves and their families at risk every time they step inside their homes.
After responding to patients all day, MGH Doctor Sarah Bernstein would walk into her home with three young girls waiting to respond to her.
“It’s been really hard to balance both being a mom and a doctor,” Bernstein said. “When I enter the house, I’m wearing all of my contaminated hospital clothes and so I have to basically put my arms up and say, ‘Wait, wait, wait, wait, no hugs,’ and then run-up to the third floor of my house, and carefully remove everything.”
Her kids didn’t understand the risk of spreading COVID-19, but the design company working on her home did.
“We put an email out to all our clients existing and past,” said New England Design & Construction CEO David Supple. “It said, ‘Hey if you are in the medical industry and you want to have more peace of mind we can help you do that.’ Sarah reached out right away and said ‘that would be amazing. I don’t want to shower in my basement but that would give me peace of mind.’”
Supple's team created a so-called sanitization station in Bernstein's basement so she could shower and change before having to walk through the house.
“So I just remove my scrubs, tie them up in a plastic bag and leave them in front of the shower, my scrubs, and my shoes,” said Bernstein.
The company, while not immune from the pandemic’s effect on the economy, still did this thousand-dollar project free of charge as a way to say “Hey thanks” to Sarah for all you do.
“With COVID the situation has not helped business,” said Supple. “She’s an amazing mother and she’s a hero in her own right. When you do something like that the feeling is worth far more than what you get in exchange for it. If folks are out there that need and want that and say this would give them peace of mind too, we would be happy to service them. I know colleagues in the industry would be as well so if we get too many inquiries.”
"It was really nice of them," said Bernstein. "It really was so helpful. I didn't even think of it. They thought of it."
Follow Wale on Facebook: WaleAliyuTV Twitter: @WaleAliyu or Instagram: WaleAliyuTV
Download the free Boston 25 News app for up-to-the-minute push alerts
>> Complete local and national coronavirus coverage here
RESOURCES:
- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information
- Boston Coronavirus Information
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Watch Boston 25 NOW
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
