It’s nice to take a break from some of the negative stuff we’ve had, the challenging things that we’ve had to deal with over the last month and a half. This is a nice to take a break and be able to just say, ‘Thank you.’ – Tim Lennon
Caretakers at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center did not know why firetrucks from five different cities were parked outside the main entrance to the hospital last Thursday morning.
Caretakers at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center did not know why firetrucks from five different cities were parked outside the main entrance to the hospital last Thursday morning.
A few nurses trickled outside to take pictures of the large U.S. flag suspended in the air between the ladders of two trucks.
The grand display was part of a lunch delivery the Chesterland Rotary Club provided — 40 sheet pizzas to feed the entire hospital staff.
With a police escort, rotary club President Walter “Skip” Claypool led a procession of club members who honked and yelled “Thank you!” from their cars to the cheering hospital staff.
Claypool drove to the front door of UH to make the drop off, his car sporting a Bada Bing Pizza delivery sign.
Lenora Likins, a quality improvement nurse at UH, was on the third floor of the hospital when the ladders outside piqued her curiosity.
“I actually saw the cranes out of a third-floor window and wondered what was going on, and then the overhead paged us if we were available, to come out,” Likins said.
Adam Beach, director of clinical services at UH, said the Chesterland Rotary Club and Geauga County Emergency Services wanted to recognize the UH hospital staff for their work during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
While Beach knew of the lunch delivery, “I didn’t expect there to be this much. I thought it was going to be a couple firetrucks. This is pretty sweet.”
This isn’t the first time the Geauga community has displayed support for UH. Beach said the hospital has received snacks, lunches and an abundance of Girl Scout cookies.
Beach said because Girl Scouts couldn’t sell outside of grocery stores, parents have purchased boxes to donate to the hospital.
“We’ve probably eaten more Girl Scout cookies this year,” Beach said with a laugh.
One donation from S.A.M. Landscaping, the company that works on the hospital grounds, totaled around 300 boxes of cookies, Beach said.
He and many other hospital workers wore masks made and donated by community members. Beach said in addition to masks, the community members have made 3D face shields and donated personal protective equipment.
“The beauty of a community hospital is everybody supports us here and for years, we’ve been fortunate enough to support the community. It’s really neat to see in return a lot of people reaching out and helping,” Beach said.
Likins explained some of the changes she has seen in the hospital to fight COVID-19.
“All the staff has been really great about everything. The visitors have been very understanding, which is helpful, but it’s been really different,” Likins said, adding with elected surgeries canceled, workers in the surgery department have taken on other hospital duties wherever needed.
Claypool spoke of the difficulty of being a hospital worker and fighting the coronavirus.
“They’re at a challenging time. They have to work long hours. They have to work in a risky situation. So we just felt that it was important to recognize the people that take care of us,” Claypool said.
He did not know the total number of emergency vehicles that would show up. He said he reached out to the Chester Township Fire Department, who reached out to Chardon and Munson fire departments. Trucks from Hamden and Burton fire departments also came.
“Geauga County’s kind of rare in that way. We’re all one big family. That means a lot,” Claypool said.
A number of public officials attended the pizza delivery, including Geauga County Commissioner Tim Lennon.
“It’s nice to take a break from some of the negative stuff we’ve had, the challenging things that we’ve had to deal with over the last month and a half,” Lennon said. “This is nice to take a break and be able to just say, ‘Thank you.’”
