Even just grabbing groceries can be a cause of a lot stress during this coronavirus crisis.
On Thursday, Stop & Shop wanted to save some health care workers a trip to the store.
In under 40 minutes, they gave 500 essential employees at Hartford Hospital essential items for their families as they fight coronavirus on the front lines.
They took home necessities like toilet paper, paper towels, pasta, and peanut butter and jelly.
Dawne Paulhus took a quick moment out of a hectic shift to stop by Stop & Shop’s giveaway at the hospital.
“I’m in maternal fetal medicine, so high-risk OB. Right now, it’s very difficult for women that are pregnant having their babies. They may be separated if they test COVID positive. It’s very, very hard. There’s a lot of anxiety and stress,” Paulhus said.
The Wethersfield resident has been a nurse for more than three-decades at Hartford Hospital, but she never imagined she’d be lining up to accept these items.
“You know you’re just doing the best you can and I never thought I would actually come into a line like this, but you know I have five at home, in and out of the house and I’m the one who is working full-time, But everyone is pitching in it’s great. You see the good in a lot of people,” Paulhus said.
Local
A spokesperson for Stop & Shop said their goal was to save this nurse and so many others from a trip to the grocery store or having to worry what’s for dinner after a stressful day at work.
“Giving them a little more time and one less thing on their to-do list to do when they’re out of work is what’s really important to us,” said Maura O’Brien, Mmanager of Community Relations for Stop & Shop.
It was an inspiring gesture to witness.
The grocery store is giving to those who are saving lives when they too have never been so busy.
“We understand the plight they’re going through and we know how stressful this time is for any essential worker, so we wanted to be able to offer them some assistance as best we could,” said O’Brien.
It's a story of heroes helping heroes. Although, classically, the most courageous aren’t inclined to admit it.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a hero, but I’m doing the best I can and working with everybody else here but just try and make everything go smoothly at Hartford Hospital,” Paulhus said/
The President of Hartford Hospital said these healthcare workers have been helping care for around 160 to 200 coronavirus patients at a time.
