All of our lives have been disrupted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. We’ve been asked to stop socializing. Many of us are working from home. Our kids have been taken out of school and their social activities have come to a halt. Others have been faced with being laid off or put on furlough due to the unprecedented amount of business closures that have occurred.
But not all of us are hunkered down at home.
A lot of people from our community, many from our very own dental practice, are still working and often times working extra hours doing the essential services we need to get through this crisis.
I would like to acknowledge the health care workers & other essential workers in our community, including my own employees at Gold Coast Smiles, who have selflessly placed themselves at risk in an effort to maintain public health and society.
While we can’t say enough about our fellow healthcare workers – the doctors, nurses, aides, assisted living staff, first responders, lab workers – who are functioning as the front line in this fight while trying to juggle their other responsibilities, often with limited equipment and protection, I also want to thank the countless other front line workers who we sometimes may forget are also essential during these times.
Police and firefighters who along with first responders are still keeping us all safe even as they cope with the impact of the virus in their own lives.
The supermarkets, grocery stores and pharmacies that are staying open, restocking their shelves, making sure everything is well sanitized and manning the checkout counters providing us with our basic daily needs.
Restaurant workers who continue making meals, packaging them for us and delivering them to our houses so we can stay home and practice social distancing.
Restaurant owners who despite the shortage of business have decided to voluntary donate food to others in need.
Truck drivers and warehouse workers who are working extra hours to make sure these same stores are restocked and the supply chain is intact.
Mailmen and women who continue to process and deliver the mail for us ensuring that essential materials like medications or financial correspondences are still being delivered to those who require them.
Teachers, who despite their classrooms being shutdown, are still organizing virtual Zoom sessions with their students and dedicating themselves to making sure our kids are still being educated.
Utility workers who ensure our lights and gas remain on and working.
Public transportation employees who still show up to work to make sure everyone else that needs to be out there working can get to where they need to be.
Lastly, as a dentist, I want to personally thank my team at Gold Coast Smiles as well as the many other dentists and their staffs who are contributing to flattening the curve. Although most dental offices around the country have been mandated by their state government to discontinue any elective treatment, many offices including ours have remained and continue to remain open for treatment of dental emergencies during the COVID19 crisis. I know many fellow clinicians share the same sentiments that I do in that we intend to provide necessary services to our communities by treating those dental emergencies in our office and decrease visits to hospitals where those patients in pain may otherwise end up. These efforts on the part of the dental community will hopefully allow hospitals to use their resources to treat those patients in more dire need and circumstances.
If I left any profession off of this modest list I apologize as my intentions were not to put together an inclusive list of all those critical to our everyday well being. The list is just that long. What is important however is recognizing the idea that we might not always recognize some professions and individuals as “essential” until we need them. It’s an important reminder to acknowledge the people who keep our world running smoothly, our streets safe and clean and our bellies full.
During this current coronavirus crisis, these essential people are putting in long hours away from their families and risking exposure to coronavirus themselves all because they are essential to the cause. So let’s all take a second and thank them. If you know a friend, family member, neighbor or coworker that you feel is essential and want to thank them for what they’re doing, leave a personal comment on this post and give them a shout out.
We’re all in this together and we will all get through this together with the help of some very special and very essential people
Andrew Sami D.D.S.