Hospital staff salute grocery store, retail workers in St. Albert

Cathy Schwer is a registered nurse in the emergency room department at Sturgeon Community Hospital, and needless to say, her job comes with its fair share of risk during a pandemic.

But there are other unsung heroes on the frontlines of COVID-19 who deserve St. Albert's recognition too, Schwer says.

Grocery store and essential retail staff are risking their lives to make sure people can purchase what they need, while rolling out new processes and procedures as quickly as possible to keep everyone safe. 

"The traffic volume in these areas is much more than what we're even seeing in the hospital, and that needs to be recognized," Schwer said.

Hospital staff are trained to handle infection and isolation procedures, she said, but those working in customer service don't have access to the same supports.

"This is not their safe environment, this is not their norm. They are going to work every day and face this, some of them with apprehension and concerns for their own family," she said. 

"We get to screen in hospital, we get to separate people, but grocery stores aren't doing that. They're trusting us that we're coming in a healthy state."

On Tuesday afternoon, staff at the Sturgeon Community Hospital organized a drive-by salute with RCMP and the St. Albert fire department for grocery and retail stores in the city. The procession weaved past Loews, Costco, Home Depot, Save-on-Foods, Walmart, Safeway and Sobeys.

"One night shift we were talking about it, and the whole title of 'heroes' came up. We were all saying, we're just doing what we do, but we wanted to pay it forward," Schwer said.

Carolyne Kotyk, registered nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Sturgeon Community Hospital, said because customer service workers don't have access to the same resources hospital staff do, they are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. 

"They're kind of at the mercy of the public, and how everyone else obeys all the rules we're supposed to be following," Kotyk said. "I thought it was very important to come and say thank you for that."

Cathy Carlson, assistant general manager at Sobeys, said the parade was a huge morale boost for their team.

"It was really heartwarming, especially because it came from the Sturgeon Community Hospital," Carlson said. "We've been thrown in the thick of this and have adapted every single day, but our team has done such a good job. We're really proud of our team and everything we've done." 

Working as an essential worker during a pandemic can be "scary" at times, but Carlson said the staff feel confident in the routines and procedures they have in place. Feeling the support of the community every day reminds staff how important they are to the public.

"I don't think anyone who works at the store really thought of us as essential workers until this all happened, and now we're feeling it. We're feeling the love daily from people," she said.