Mark Tuerson, physical therapist assistant, has been redeployed to work at Logan Regional Hospital working with its EVS team.
Mark is part of the Sports Medicine team that supports Utah State University students, club sport athletes and the cheerleaders and hasn’t been able to do his regular work since athletic events were cancelled due to the pandemic. He says he was grateful he could be redeployed so he could keep bringing in a paycheck for his family. He believed having the right attitude would help him contribute and enjoy his new work.
“If you can make wherever you're at better, then you have got something to tell your kids, you’ve got something you can be proud of,” he says. “I went into this thinking I’d do all I could to make things better in EVS but after I spent time with these caregivers, I realized I'm the one who’s better off for working with them. When I saw how these courageous people work, when everything is so tough and they've got kids at home — like the single moms — and saw how much they’re contributing, it changed me for the better.”
One of Mark Tuerson's duties is to haul trash and he says he has learned from the heroes he works with in his redeployed role.
Mark’s EVS supervisor, Julie Rigby, says Mark brought a lot to her team as well. She nominated him for an iCare Award because of what he contributed to her team.
“Right from the start, Mark has been such a positive spark for our department,” she wrote. “He has such an upbeat and positive attitude. He gets along well with everyone and he’ll be missed tremendously when he returns to his regular job in P.T.”
Mark says the way they treated him when he arrived motivated him to work hard.
“From day one, when I walked in, they made me feel so welcome,” he says. “They were thanking me for being there. How can you go into that and not just say, ‘You know what, you deserve the best from me every day?’”
Mark says they view their role as essential to stopping the spread of the virus and it is. He explained if they were unable to clean a room where a COVID-19 patient had been treated it would have to sit empty until someone could clean it.
“I tell you what, my definition of hero has expanded,” he says. “They're the ones who go in and clean these rooms, and work in the ER, and they never bat an eye.”
He says he likes to be up and moving, but he’s doing a lot more moving than he used to in his regular work day. Mark says he might log 1,500 steps at work on a normal physical therapy day. Working in his redeployment role he can easily clear 15,000 steps in a day and sometimes logs more than 20,000 steps at work.
Julie says she notices what Mark contributes and so do others.
“There aren’t many good things that have come from COVID-19 that I can think of, but getting to know our wonderful redeployed caregivers is definitely one of them,” she wrote. “Mark has been doing our trash pick-ups, hall sweeping, and high-touch surface cleaning. He’s all over the hospital and I’ve heard so many compliments and positive comments about him. He’s always willing to do what’s needed to keep our patients safe!”