This mountainous community is active during the winter ski season and the annual Sundance Film Festival, and is home to the Park City Hospital with 460 employees. Like countless hospitals across the country, the demand for COVID-19 has sometimes overwhelmed facilities and dramatically changed the way caregivers interact with patients.

“The past year and a half has had an impact on us,” said Jodie Connelly, nurse manager in the intensive care unit of the hospital, which is part of the Intermountain Healthcare System in Salt Lake City. “The nurse has a thick skin, but the pandemic has tested us in a way we have never really accepted before.”

The community served by the hospital noticed this pressure and came up with a new idea to help the hospital staff. The residents of Park City have raised enough funds — through donations from more than a dozen residents and two large seed donors — to fund a pop-up grocery store in a room in the hospital that used to be a private dining area.

The hospital uses approximately $10,000 in donations a month to store the store, and all items are provided to any hospital employee for free.

At first, the store offered ready-made pasta, chicken and mashed potatoes, as well as other foods, including vegetarian food, which the caregiver could take home or eat during shifts. Later, basic groceries such as milk and eggs were added to employees to store their refrigerators. Today, Park City Hospital’s store has expanded to include non-perishable items such as cereals, sugar, oatmeal and pasta, as well as a variety of fresh produce.

Connelly said that she particularly likes the easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables. “Although my storage room at home is full of non-perishable things, if I can’t bring home fresh produce, I have to go to the grocery store more often,” she said.

Selene Macotela-Garcia, the hospital food service director in charge of the store, said she tried to find a variety of products. “Everyone gets excited when we launch a new product,” she said. She recently added lemon, eggplant, beets and cabbage to the mixture. “Eating sweet potatoes before Thanksgiving is particularly popular,” she said.

Macotela-Garcia explained that some employees picked up enough ready-made food to bring home a pre-made meal for each family member without having to prepare something after they arrived.

This store allows hospital staff to avoid public places where the risk of COVID transmission is high, such as grocery stores, and helps them save money. “Financials have been tight; some of us need help more than people realize,” said Gregoria Taboada, a hospital food service staff who frequents the store.

However, this store has played a role in helping hospital nurses save on a commodity that has been particularly short of recently: time.

“It means a lot to me, after the 13-hour shift, I don’t have to stop at the grocery store to pick up basic things,” Connery said.

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Work-life balance is difficult to maintain because the loss of pandemic care has prompted some employees to resign, while the rest are often asked to clean up the mess.

“I started working overtime every week to help,” said Katie Peabody, a nurse in the hospital’s intensive care unit. “I often work more than 50 hours a week, and the work I do has become so heavy physically, emotionally and mentally,” she said.

Hard working conditions are one of the many factors mentioned in a report Recent Mayo Clinic Research Explain why nurses have suicidal thoughts more frequently than people in other occupations.

“Sometimes there are only two nurses in the intensive care unit and no technician or secretary to answer the phone or provide help,” Peabody said.

Although Utah is one of them the second half Among the fully vaccinated states, Summit County in Park City is the most vaccinated state in the state, with 80% of its residents being fully vaccinated.However, due to the large number of tourists in the city, the current level of transmission in the county is still Rated In the highest category.

The staff said the store also boosted morale, especially when they were dealing with another recent change: patients no longer trust or appreciate them. “None of us want to be heroes,” Connery said, “but we have had a good relationship with patients and their families in the past. This situation has changed in many cases during the pandemic.”

She pointed out that almost all the COVID patients she treated this year were not vaccinated, and most people have very strong feelings about the use of masks and vaccines and other preventive measures. She said many patients believe in the treatment options recommended by hospital staff that they see on social media.

“Some people don’t believe they are infected with COVID, and we are treating them for this disease,” she exclaimed. “Some people even refuse to wear oxygen [mask]; They argue with us about everything. …Some people are downright mean. “

Although this type of patient may be an exception, the staff said that the store helps to make up for the loss caused by the negative interaction.

“The hospital store proves that we are valued,” Peabody added. “Even if some patients tell us otherwise, every time I go to the store, I think of someone outside who appreciates me and takes care of me like I am trying to take care of other people.”

Kaiser Health News is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.