Providence Downers Grove & Saratoga Grove celebrate milestone

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Last month, Providence Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center and Saratoga Grove Retirement & Assisted Living held a picnic to celebrate an 85% COVID-19 vaccination rate among their staff.

The celebration included an assortment of picnic food, games, and snow cones handed out by Joe McManus, Executive Director over the entire Downers Grove campus. But the real highlight of the day was a $5,000 drawing for one vaccinated staff member. The winner was Jennifer Sacatropez, a Registered Nurse at Providence Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center of Downers Grove since March of 2019.

Jennifer’s story highlights the best traits of healthcare workers during the pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, many COVID-19 patients had nowhere safe to go after being discharged from the hospital. They were not well enough to go home, but not sick enough to stay hospitalized, and many facilities were reluctant to take in people who were COVID-19 positive. Providence decided to open a COVID-19 Recovery Unit to meet this need, drawing patients from four surrounding states who would otherwise have had few alternatives to care. With many fellow staff out sick, and other staff afraid of contracting COVID-19, Jennifer stepped up to help where it was needed most, taking the position of manager inside the COVID-19 Recovery Unit.

Many times, Jennifer assisted with FaceTime videos for COVID-19 patients with the campus chaplain or a priest or pastor on the other end of the phone so they could pray and talk with patients. She helped with window visits and other compassionate acts for patients, family members, and staff. Recently, Jennifer became a part-time nursing supervisor on the evening shift and splits her time between that position and floor nurse.

Jennifer said that when she first heard about the vaccine, she wasn’t sure she wanted to get it. “I was scared of the reaction I might have,” she said. “And I didn’t know if it was truly safe.”

But she did research, speaking with healthcare experts and reading up on it, “I realized this was the safest thing for me,” she said. “I’m so glad I decided to get vaccinated, and I encouraged everyone else to get vaccinated as well.”

Because many of the staff here saw firsthand the dangers of the virus and experienced the ravages of the disease, an overwhelming majority of the staff there chose to get the vaccine to protect themselves and those around them. Thanks to Jennifer and her teammates at Providence and Saratoga Grove communities, we’re even closer to ending the pandemic.

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