Athletic Trainer Eliza Parker serving as a screener at Mission Hospital.
By Eliza Parker
I’m an Athletic Trainer though Mission, but I’m contracted to the University of North Carolina Asheville. Upon all this happening and the kids being told they’re not returning to the campus, they have found other uses for us athletic trainers being screeners or personal protective equipment runners. I chose to do the screening.
I chose a place that’s more high risk for exposure, because I’m younger. I’m fairly healthy and I don’t have anyone in the high-risk category depending on me for care. I don’t have grandparents at home, and I don’t have children. That’s how I ended up here doing screening.
For the screening process, we ask a few simple questions about signs and symptoms to make sure they haven’t had any contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19. For those going upstairs for surgeries, we make sure they’re not positive for anything to reduce the risk of exposure for other people and our healthcare professionals taking care of them. That way, we can prevent the spread better.
“I chose a place that’s more high risk for exposure.”
It feels important for me to help screen because we can help keep the population safe, and help keep our healthcare workers safe so they can continue to treat those who become ill.
I’ve had people come up to me to just ask questions about COVID-19, not that they are ill or seeking help. They just wanted to know what’s going on, and want to know if we have any information that we can give them. In those cases, I try to direct them to resources that have that information.
So, if you come to the hospital, you’ll see me or another screener asking a couple of simple questions. And, then we’ll direct you to the best resource to answer all of your questions regarding COVID-19 or get you into the hospital to get the care you need.
