Snowbound UPMC Hamot workers get rides to work
UPMC Hamot dispatched its police and security vehicles Monday morning to bring about a dozen snowbound employees to work.
Hamot officials began receiving calls early Monday morning from employees, including several physicians, who couldn't drive to the hospital due to the snowstorm.
"Many of them live out in the county but we also received a few calls from employees who are here in the city," said Jason Chenault, Hamot's director of emergency, hospitalist and critical-care services. "They simply couldn't get to the hospital for their shift."
Hamot's police and security dispatchers coordinated the rides using two of the department's all-wheel-drive vehicles. An Erie Bureau of Police vehicle assisted with one ride, Chenault said.
More: The latest on Monday's snowstorm around Erie County
It wasn't the first time Hamot coordinated rides for employees during a snowstorm. The hospital also did it during the Christmas 2017 storm that dumped about five feet of snow in the area.
"But with the way staffing is right now, it's so important to get staff to the hospital," Chenault said, referring to the pandemic-related staffing shortage nationwide.
Hamot's census Monday was 330 patients, including 64 who have COVID-19, Chenault said. Erie County's number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has increased in recent weeks.
Rides were also available later Monday for Hamot's second- and third-shift employees who are snowbound. Employees have been notified to contact Hamot's police and security department dispatch center.
Chenault said the number of requests for rides would likely have been higher but many nonclinical workers were off Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Snowbound UPMC Hamot workers in Erie get rides to work
