Bel Air Recognizes Health Care Workers

BEL AIR, MD — The town of Bel Air plans to recognize those in the health care profession.

A sign on the marquee in front of Town Hall on Hickory Avenue says “thank you” to health care workers “for all that you are doing for our community.”

Still, town officials say they want to do more.

“I look at the hospital as a war zone,” Town Administrator Jesse Bane said.

Bane has lost cousins to COVID-19, he told the town commissioners during a virtual work session Tuesday.

“We don’t know when this is going to end,” Bane said of the pandemic.

Patti Parker, the town spokesperson who put up the message on the marquee, spoke to some employees in the health care industry to find out what they were facing.

“They’re being treated really poorly,” said Parker, who noted one of those she spoke with worked for Upper Chesapeake. “They’re yelled at and they’re screamed at because of the wait” times and the inability to visit people in the hospital. She suggested encouraging people to direct kindness toward those in the field.

Upper Chesapeake Medical Center declared a hospital disaster and moved to crisis levels of care before Christmas, due to high demands and staffing shortages.

An executive at Upper Chesapeake had suggested doing something this month to recognize health care workers, Bane said. While the town will be putting a banner in front of the Bel Air Reckord Armory, Bane said a statue or monument could be more lasting and may “require a little bit of money.”

Police Chief Charles Moore suggested care packages, which he said the Bel Air Police Department receives from time to time and always appreciates.

As someone who has worked in nursing, Commissioner Erin Hughes said she thought “getting feedback is the way to go” before making a decision about how to recognize health care workers. She worked for 11 years as a registered nurse in Baltimore and Harford counties.

“After two years, it’s starting to ring hollow,” Hughes said, when people hail workers in the medical industry as health care heroes for their contributions during the pandemic. She said she would support something “to actually make a difference.”

Next, town officials will confer with those at Upper Chesapeake about how to proceed. They may also consult Harford County officials and those in Aberdeen and Havre de Grace about collaborating on the recognition.