SPECIAL REPORT: Some MEA members are serving two vital roles in the pandemic

Two Worlds, Big Hearts: Some Educators Work in Health Care, Too

Patrick Lothrop—Lapeer Community Schools

When middle school science teacher Patrick Lothrop ran a weekly Zoom class meeting during remote learning last spring, his students asked how he was feeling. Was he busy? Staying safe? Lothrop works part-time as a health care worker and full-time as a teacher at the Center for Innovation in Lapeer. In his job as a medical technologist at Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Lothrop runs laboratory tests on patient blood and bodily fluid samples. As an educator he teaches middle school science and engineering, including an elective course called Medical Detectives. He explains to students the work he does and safety precautions he takes every day. “I’m honest with them. I say, ‘Yeah, I worry when I go to work sometimes. Yes, I’ve got the mask on; I’ve got the gloves; I’ve got the gown, but I still worry when I go to work.’” Under normal circumstances, students in Lothrop’s Medical Detectives class study the human body and DNA to learn how to measure and interpret vital signs, diagnose disease, and solve “crime scene” mysteries through hands-on projects. Students plate bacteria, grow it, and do antibiotic studies on it. Lothrop brings in blood samples to spin down and show the components of blood. The goal is to teach problemsolving—a critical skill in life and the lab—by drawing on kids’ interest in real-world applications. “A medical technologist has to problem-solve,” he said. “When results look abnormal, I have to determine whether they’re accurate or not to be able to give out to the doctor. And I have to look at all these different formulas in my head to determine if the specimen is valid or not.”

Lothrop was a scientist before he was a teacher. He’s been an educator for 20 years and currently serves as treasurer of the Lapeer Education Association. With school buildings closed in the spring, Lothrop and his teaching colleagues did their best to educate students with engineering design challenges they could do using materials at home. He admits the classes are difficult to replicate on the computer. “There’s been a push in the last couple years to say, ‘We don’t need teachers; we can do this all online,’” he said. “I say no. Kids need human contact and they want the chance to do science and engineering directly.”

Beverly Banks—Alpena Community College

MEA member Beverly Banks got creative to finish teaching two hands-on nursing classes that she already had under way at Alpena Community College (ACC) when buildings on campus closed in March. A registered nurse and full-time senior faculty member at the college, Banks was teaching classes for students at both ends of the experience spectrum when spread of the novel coronavirus led the state’s higher education institutions to switch all classes to distance learning. One of Banks’ classes that changed midstream featured beginner basics, such as handwashing and medications, for students just starting to take nursing classes. The other class was the final step for seniors before clinical experience and graduation. “Some of the things that I had to teach them in the higher functioning lab was mock codes and what to do in emergency situations,” she said. Normally the students would practice and demonstrate advanced knowledge using training mannequins. Now the only people in close proximity to the dummy patient would be Banks

Some MEA members work both in education and health care. They offer a unique perspective on teaching, learning, and appreciation for front-line caregivers in the age of COVID-19.

Beverly Banks—Alpena Community College

and a couple of family-member assistants. With help from ACC’s IT department, Banks established a video feed with four camera angles so students could direct the people on-site. “We were just an extension of their hands,” she said. Beginner students similarly were able to watch Banks demonstrate techniques from multiple angles before repeating back her actions while she watched on video. Fortunately, students have all the equipment and materials they need in lab bags purchased at the beginning of the class. Learning to be a nurse involves practice, individual redirection, and more practice. “The beauty of an educator is being able to assess, and it truthfully goes hand-in-hand with nursing. All of my patients aren’t the same, and neither are my students.” Banks uses humor to show what’s not taught in textbooks. “You need to have a little bit of fun, because what we do is not always a graceful job. Nurses are supposed to make it better, so I don’t mind being a goofball if it makes somebody happy and it makes somebody laugh.”

Tim Nelson—Ontonagon Area School District

MEA member Tim Nelson demonstrates what educators and health care workers have in common—big hearts. In his 21st year of teaching social studies and English in Ontonagon, in the northwest corner of the Upper Peninsula, Nelson decided to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). He took the training last fall and began working on-call shifts on an ambulance in November. “There was a need, and it’s a way to help out the community,” Nelson said. Little did he know as he took on this new role, the COVID-19 pandemic would soon upend lives around the globe—even in the farthest reaches of the UP. “It’s always on your mind, whether you’re on an ambulance call or at the grocery store,” he said. A big worry surrounding the virus is the dearth of rural hospitals with Intensive Care Units and adequate Emergency Room beds to handle a big surge of patients, he said. The one hospital in Ontonagon County has three ER beds and no ICU. The county to the east has no ICU, and the same is true two counties to the north. He enjoys being an educator and EMT for similar reasons: no

two days are the same, and he helps people improve. Last spring, Nelson used Google classroom to stay connected to his Ontonagon High School students. Some received paper packets in lieu of digital access. He noticed parents posting kind words about educators on social media after discovering the difficulties of home schooling. He also appreciated caring gestures toward health care workers, such as hearts in windows and offers of free coffee for first responders. “I take pride in both jobs, and it’s been great to see the support for my colleagues in both professions,” he said. “It is a little disappointing that we need a crisis to be appreciated, but it’s awfully nice to see people reaching out with kind words and actions throughout our great state.”

MESSA extends free online and telehealth visits through Dec. 31

MESSA is here for you. We know this health crisis isn’t over, and we know that a lot of our members are worried about going back to work when the school year starts. We want to do all we can to support you and your health. One way we’re doing that is by providing 100% free coverage for telehealth visits with in-network providers through the end of 2020. That means no deductible, no copayment and no coinsurance for virtual medical and mental health visits through Dec. 31, 2020. There are two ways to access this benefit: •

Online Visits: MESSA members and their covered dependents can visit a doctor or a mental health therapist using a smartphone, tablet or computer through MESSA’s partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of

Michigan. For more info and to get started, visit messa.org/ onlinevisits.

Telehealth with current provider:

MESSA will fully cover telehealth and online appointments with members’ current in-network doctors and therapists using their providers’ existing telehealth platforms. Additionally, MESSA will continue to fully cover all medically necessary testing and treatment for COVID-19. That is our commitment to you. We at MESSA believe in those of you who care for our kids, our schools and our communities, and we are grateful for the work you do. We truly believe that you deserve exceptional health benefits and unmatched personal service—and this one way for us to show it.

By Ross Wilson, MESSA Executive Director

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Chuck Waldroup

signed up to be a bus mechanic seven years ago with Inland Lakes School District, but to his surprise a driver shortage placed him behind the wheel in a permanent second role.

What was your reaction to unexpectedly becoming a bus driver?

I thought it was going to be a nightmare with kids misbehaving, and from riding with somebody else to learn the route a couple times, I picked up some kids’ names because they were the mischievous ones. Then after about a week and a half I thought, the only kids on here that I know their names are the kids that get in trouble, and that’s not right. So I looked at the stops and looked through PowerSchool and started calling every kid as they got on and off by name. So once you connect on a personal level with them, you find out some kids are from less fortunate families and stuff like that. Then you can figure out how to treat them for their behavior.

What works best for misbehavior?

Talking to them like they’re human beings. Not looking down your nose at them, which is easy to do as an adult, because you think, I know more than they do. They need to listen to me. They need to respect me. But we have to respect them, too.

What else do you do to connect with your kids?

I’ll talk to them when we’re driving down the road. I dress up for Halloween. I try to dress up for all the holidays. I’ve got a leprechaun thing I wear for St. Patrick’s Day and Santa hats. Last year I put on bunny ears and whiskers that I made, and I made my own cottontail for Easter, and I give them little treats. Last day of school I give them something. Just try to make the ride more enjoyable and they behave better that way.

How many kids are on your bus? And what ages?

I think we’re about one of the only schools that actually buses preschoolers. So I have from four-yearolds to eighteen-year-olds. And my route is one of the fuller routes. I run on average 60 kids a day. Sometimes up to 75, 76? My route is—mileage-wise—about 35 miles, and my bus is the last one in every day. We leave school at about eight minutes after 3, and I get back at 4:30.

What have you been doing during the coronavirus building closures?

I’ve stayed busy doing the repairs on the buses that I can’t normally do when we’re running. And then on the bonus side, being at the school, I get to help with food distribution for the kids every Wednesday.

Why do you say that that’s a bonus?

Because I at least get to see a couple of the kids. And you stand six to eight feet away, but you get to talk to them and it makes them happy. I still give them treats. I buy stuff myself, and coming up the union donated funds and we’re putting goodie bags together to say, “We miss you,” from the teachers and the aides and the bus drivers. The bags will have a puzzle and some wildflower seed packets and a candy treat for each kid.

I love that you initially thought you didn’t want to be a driver, and then you missed it when that part of your job temporarily went away.

It’s weird because you get used to the kids and it’s like a big family. Like I said, there’s the less fortunate ones. I always try to help them out and try not to be obvious about it more than the other kids. A lot of them live far away from anyone. I worry because these kids that were already going through not the best situation in life, when they have to sit at home it makes it even harder for them. I’m just glad if I can help.

I’m sure they appreciate it, too.

Like I said, I’m going on three years of driving the route and when I first started, some of the kids, you couldn’t get them to behave for nothing. And now those kids, because I would sit and talk to them, are some of the best-behaved ones on the bus. I don’t have any rowdy kids on the bus anymore at all.