Commissioner counters COVID naysayers by collecting treats, cards for health workers
A Sedgwick County commissioner wants medical workers who’ve been physically and emotionally drained by the COVID-19 pandemic to know they’re still heroes and she’s organizing an effort to shower them with snacks, supplies and thank-you cards.
Sarah Lopez, who worked for the Ascension Via Christi health care system for 15 years before being elected to the County Commission in November, said she’s seen a change in public attitude toward hospital and health department professionals in recent months.
Lopez was one of only two commissioners who voted last week to implement County Health Officer Dr. Garold Minns’ proposal requiring masks as the COVID-19 delta variant surges and local hospitals fill with younger, sicker patients.
Commissioners voted along party lines, 3-2, with Republicans — Pete Meitzner, David Dennis and Jim Howell — voting to receive and file Minns’ order without taking action after a motion by Democratic commissioners — Lacey Cruse and Lopez — to pass the mask mandate failed along party lines.
She doesn’t like it and hopes her effort can reinforce workers as they deal with the latest surge in coronavirus cases and deaths, while they’re also facing a backlash from an increasingly organized and vocal movement of COVID deniers.
“Last year they were really health-care heroes, right? That’s how they were labeled,” Lopez said. “Now it’s pretty much the opposite where instead of being praised, I mean, they’re having people in the hospitals with COVID who don’t believe in COVID.
“They’re being portrayed as the bad guys in many ways at this point and it’s completely unfair when they are putting their health and safety on the line every single day for our community and they’re not getting the respect they deserve.”
While last year’s well-wishes didn’t reduce the workload for health workers or change what had to be done to treat COVID patients, it did give them a much-needed morale boost, Lopez said.
She hopes her effort will be the start of bringing that back.
“I think we need to come together as a community and show them how much we appreciate everything that they’re doing,” she said.
To that end, she has set up a special Amazon account where people can buy a variety of items including mask balms, lip balm and moisturizer to help offset skin irritation from wearing personal protective equipment on long shifts — also, meat sticks, cookies, crackers and other snacks to brighten the workers’ break times and give them an energy boost during the day.
And pens, because “nurses love pens because they have to write so many notes and they’re always running out,” Lopez said.
She’s also asking individuals and businesses to donate individual bottles of Gatorade and Powerade; 5,000 bottles of water have already been pledged by an anonymous donor.
Lopez said she hopes to collect as much as she can by Sept. 10 and will start distributions to the workers in the county health department and Wesley and Via Christi hospitals the week after.
She has three interns working on the project and Hutton Construction has lent her one of their employees to help pick up and organize donations.
For those who aren’t the shopping type, “If anyone would prefer to write a check we’ll just take that and go to Costco or somewhere and use it for that stuff,” she said.
She’s also trying to enlist schools and their students to write thank-you letters and cards to health care workers to go along with the care packages. Several Haysville school classes are participating in that effort and she hopes to expand to other area districts.
Those wanting to donate, or teachers or principals who want their students to write cards and letters, can contact Lopez at 316-871-8122 by voice or text, or e-mail at sarah.lopez@sedgwick.gov.
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 2:26 PM.
