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Gursewak Singh interview
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- Hello, my name is Athena, and I'm
- so glad to see you all today.
- I'm with Outreach in Continuing Education and Western
- C.A.R.E.S. here at Western Washington University,
- and I'll be acting as your host today
- for this session of Stories To Tell.
- A quick note, the interview is being recorded,
- and they will be archived for the Center
- for Pacific Northwest Studies and the South Asian American
- Digital Archives.
- And they're going to be made available to the public
- for research, teaching, and education, so just keep
- that in mind today.
- And a little bit quickly about Western C.A.R.E.S..
- We started this as a resource for us
- to connect, and share, and maintain our sense of community
- and engagement during these days when
- we're trying to stay home, and stay healthy, and take
- care of each other.
- These are online interactive sessions
- put on by your colleagues and peers who
- are volunteering their time to share these interests
- and experiences with you.
- As your host, I'm going to introduce your session,
- and then I'm here for any tech support you may need.
- Know that you entered the call today
- with your sound muted and your video
- off because we are recording, and that
- helps us keep the video focused on our speakers.
- There will be time at the end though where
- I'll turn back on your sound if you'd like to ask questions.
- And always know that you can use the chat option on the side
- and that we'll be monitoring that as well.
- So thank you so much for joining us.
- And now I'm going to hand it over for the interview.
- Hi, everyone.
- Thank you for joining Stories To Tell.
- I'm Dharitri Bhattacharjee, and I
- teach in the History department at Western Washington
- University.
- In this oral history series, our goal
- is to explore a diversity of South Asian perspectives
- on COVID-19.
- The region of South Asia comprises India, Bangladesh,
- Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan.
- This is our last week in Stories To Tell, so today and Thursday
- at 2:00 PM Pacific Standard Time,
- we will bring for you a new voice.
- I will ask questions and have a conversation
- for 30 minutes, then after which we encourage
- you to ask questions to our guests,
- and today that would be Gursewak Singh.
- Minorities and immigrants are routinely
- absent and underrepresented in archival collections,
- hence I could not be more excited to be
- convening the series.
- I will be conducting the interview,
- but there are several people who are responsible for making
- this happen.
- I want to acknowledge the contribution
- of Western C.A.R.E.S. Program Specialist, Athena Roth,
- and Center for Pacific and Northwest Studies
- Archivist, Ruth Steele.
- And welcome, Gursewak.
- Thank you so much for taking the time to join this.
- So let me first start by asking how you identify yourself?
- I know you were born in the US.
- Is that right?
- Yes, so myself, so I'm a Punjabi Sikh American,
- so basically the American part is self-explanatory.
- I was born in America in California.
- But so the Punjabi part, Punjab is a state--
- a Northern state-- part of India.
- So a lot of culturally they've influenced me,
- and that's part of my upbringing.
- And then Sikh is my religion.
- The basic three principles that we have just
- briefly are Kirat Karo which means to earn an honest living.
- Naam Japo which is to meditate and have a connection with God
- and see them in everyone.
- And then Vand Chhako, which is
- to share whatever you have with others
- and give back to the community in any way you can.
- So that's just a brief explanation of who I am.
- Mm-hmm, so you said you were born in California.
- So tell us a little bit about growing up in California,
- your childhood, teenage years, but also when
- did you and your family move to Washington?
- So, yeah, like I said, I was born in Stockton, California.
- I was born and raised there.
- Really my upbringing, because of how diverse California is
- and how I feel it's progressive in the sense
- that there are so many different groups of people,
- so many different backgrounds, so many different cultures that
- are there, growing up, that was the norm for me.
- You know, having a class full of people of all different colors,
- all different cultures, and just always feeling
- that we are all one.
- You know, we learn from each other,
- and we were all just one people.
- But there was a lot of different influences.
- Like there were a lot of African-American people,
- a lot of Mexicans, a lot of different backgrounds,
- a lot of people from South Asian communities as well.
- So I never felt like an outsider as far
- as growing up in California.
- But we moved up to Washington in around 2008
- to be closer to our family in Surrey
- on the other side of the border in Canada.
- The only real-- well, initially the real shocker,
- the real change as I was starting elementary school then
- at that time was that walking into the classroom,
- I didn't see as much diversity.
- And I didn't see as many people that looked like me.
- For example, from the whole school,
- there were only two or three--
- two actually-- that wore turbans like I
- did, or were South Asian or South Indian people sort of.
- So that really was a shock, you know,
- being in a classroom that didn't have as much diversity.
- And initially, I thought of myself as an outsider,
- but the more as I grew up with these people,
- they became my friends.
- I got to know what they were about
- and what they thought of me, what they thought
- of us as cultural or different types of people,
- and what their initial responses to that.
- I had learned to see that a lot of them
- were very, very welcoming, and they
- didn't have any sort of resentment,
- or any sort of underlying hatred,
- or anything like that, right?
- So that was very nice to see.
- That even though I wasn't accustomed to having
- a classroom full of people that didn't relate to me
- or didn't relate to being so diverse.
- but they were very accommodating,
- and very, very nice people in general
- in Washington I would say growing up.
- So it was a nice experience here as well-- different,
- but it was very nice.
- And where do you live right now?
- Do you live in Bellingham?
- Yeah, so we moved to Ferndale, Washington, here.
- So but I did grow up in-- like, I
- went to several different schools.
- And during high school, I went to Meridian,
- and I went to Ferndale High School as well.
- I played sports here as well with a lot of my friends.
- And just seeing, you know, going to different places,
- seeing how people reacted.
- Because in Washington, I feel like there's not
- that much of a big representation of South Asian
- communities here, and people--
- like going into different towns for the first time,
- people seeing me playing on basketball court,
- and stuff like that.
- But the general response wasn't that of like,
- you know, "Oh, this is weird."
- Like, "OK, now we're going to hate him."
- It's sort of more like, we want to learn more
- about it because we've never seen somebody
- that looks like you, you know?
- So that was very nice that people
- weren't choosing to be ignorant and choosing to be hateful.
- It was nice to-- wherever I went in Washington,
- there were people that were very nice and very kind.
- They just wanted more information,
- and they asked me questions and just
- to get to know me as a person better,
- and to understand what sort of background and culture
- that I had so.
- It was like I said, Washington has very, very nice people so,
- yeah.
- That's great.
- So tell us about your school, your education right now.
- I know you are [? actually ?] in school,
- but you are also working, and you know with what's happening.
- Because we want to start talking about you
- as an essential worker, you know, like, experience.
- But, yeah, tell us about what degree are you working towards,
- and what work you're doing, and what's
- your career plan as of now?
- So the end goal for career-wise is
- that I want to become a nurse practitioner.
- So the general requirement for that
- is just basically a doctorate in Nursing.
- So starting out right now and working
- on getting my bachelor's in Biology,
- which is like I'm in my last year and a half of getting
- that done at Bellingham Technical College.
- And then the classes that they don't provide,
- I'll be going to Whatcom.
- And then the classes that they don't
- provide, I'll be going to Western to finish it all up.
- I'm trying to be as cost-effective I can be.
- So that's why I'm working towards that.
- But after I've done my bachelor's in Biology,
- I'm going to be doing an accelerated program
- at the University of Washington to get my bachelor's in Nursing
- in order to get into Nurse Practitioner School so.
- So we've got a long ways to go, but we'll get there.
- And then as far as my work, I work as a nursing assistant
- at Mt.
- Baker Care Center.
- The reason why I decided to go down that line
- was because in order to get into Nurse Practitioner School
- initially, you need to have a certain amount of hours
- of clinical work.
- So I just wanted to sort of expose myself
- to the medical field in that sense,
- so that's why I decided to become a nursing assistant.
- So you mentioned that you moved from California,
- which was far more diverse, to Washington
- because your family wanted to be close to other family
- in Surrey, and that has a very, very big Punjabi Sikh
- population.
- So how has your family, in particular, but also
- your community done during the pandemic?
- Can you tell us a little bit about family, community,
- everything?
- Yeah, so specifically, I'll start with my family.
- So my parents, my father, he works
- as a truck driver, and then my mother,
- she works in the medical field as well.
- She's a phlebotomist.
- So our, my mother's and I, we sort of had the same reactions
- as far as work going.
- Like we had to be mindful of everything
- in order to keep the infection rate down, you know?
- We had the same guidelines to wash our hands, the same PPE,
- same mask-wearing, and everything, et cetera.
- But the main sort of normal-world job
- that my dad has, that's the one that I saw get
- hit the most in the way that he had
- to sit at home for a month and a half
- because he did not know if-- and we as a family,
- we didn't know-- if he was safe to go out.
- There weren't many precautions being put out
- at the time for everybody.
- They weren't being mandated.
- So we just didn't know if he was putting himself
- at risk going out when nobody else was really
- taking the proper precautions.
- So we were really wary of that, so that's
- why my dad had to take a month and a half off, so that's him.
- And then my mother, her, like a lot
- of people in the medical field, the hours like a lot of people
- that were on per diem in her job that we're working there,
- they got laid off because they just didn't have the hours.
- They just didn't have the means to support
- that many staff I guess.
- So that was another shortage that we saw.
- And then lastly, with my grandmother,
- she is actually a resident of the United Kingdom,
- so she's from England.
- So the biggest thing with her was
- that she obviously couldn't fly back to England anytime soon.
- So we knew that was coming up.
- But then also the thing that we were really worried about
- was she has a lot of medication that she was not
- able to get here.
- So when this whole pandemic started out,
- we didn't know what was going to happen,
- if we were going to have to pay out of pocket to get those,
- or if we were going to have to get a prescription
- or anything like that.
- So we ended up just going to the day clinic at the hospital.
- And then we just said, hey, this is our grandmother.
- She's a UK resident.
- She doesn't have any sort of traveler's insurance
- or anything like that here, but she is
- running low on her medication.
- She can't go back because of COVID, so what
- are we supposed to do?
- And they actually responded with they just said,
- OK, we'll just take any medication that you have,
- any prescription.
- They just wanted an old prescription
- that they could see that a doctor from England
- wrote out for her.
- So we provided that, and they just
- ended up refilling all of the medication for her
- and everything like that.
- So it was nice to see that a lot of the community
- did know this is a tough time for everyone,
- and that this is a good time to be
- lenient with things like this and helping everybody.
- Because COVID is actually hitting everybody
- quite equally, you know, some that
- are getting directly affected, but most
- are getting affected in similar ways as well.
- So it was nice to see how they related with that
- and really try to help us out.
- Mm-hmm, OK, so it's been difficult,
- but you're getting through it, your family.
- Yeah.
- And tell us about your work at Mt.
- Baker.
- What work do you do?
- You are a nursing assistant.
- What does that involve?
- So before COVID, our general job description
- or what we would do is-- so Mt.
- Baker Care Center in Fairhaven, Washington, that
- is a skilled nursing facility.
- So a lot of the patients that we work with,
- they have some cognitive issues.
- Like some do have dementia.
- Some have different varying types of diseases
- that render them a little bit incapable of doing
- everyday activities by themselves,
- so we help them with that.
- You know, and generally, I work the evening shift.
- So we schedule our routine around mealtimes of dinner,
- right?
- So the biggest thing with our facility
- was that we really wanted the residents to feel
- like they're at home, you know?
- And we don't want this to feel like a hospital setting.
- So we had really strong life enrichment program.
- So they would always be constantly working
- with the residents trying to make sure
- that they felt like this wasn't basically
- a hospital like they just come in and sit in the bed
- and that's it.
- But we'd have activities that they do like bingo, painting,
- or they'd have movie nights, you know.
- And the biggest aspect of that whole social thing
- was that we used to take the residents during mealtimes
- to a social dining room.
- So they'd come down, we'd bring the residents in,
- and then we'd take their orders, and then we'd bring them back.
- Then all the residents would be able to converse
- with other people--
- other residents.
- They would have a relatively normal life or as normal
- as can be.
- And the biggest thing was when we as a facility
- encouraged their families to come in during mealtimes as
- well, to come and sit together and have
- meals with their parents, their grandparents.
- And it was a really good socially uplifting environment
- for the residents as well as for the families
- because they felt like their parents were
- loved for everything.
- They were able to be there for them.
- So that was the whole sort of-- so we just
- cater toward those needs, like if they need help with anything
- like dental care, helping them get to the bathroom,
- or helping them walk back to bed, just anything,
- getting clothed, getting dressed, getting ready for bed,
- or getting ready for meals, or anything like that.
- So that's generally what a nursing assistant does.
- It just helps aid the nurse that's on duty,
- like, help her do her job, and help get anything done.
- But how has that changed?
- I'm thinking that social distancing is the norm right
- now, so how did that change with COVID?
- I mean, are the patients not allowed
- to meet their families anymore, are they?
- Yes, so the biggest thing--
- well, initially, we had to go down
- in the lockdown and everything, sort
- of like implement our own social distancing, our own infection
- control procedures.
- Because early January before COVID
- was even a thing or as far as coming into America
- and spreading rapidly, we had a different upper-respiratory
- virus come throughout the whole building.
- You know, a couple of our residents
- got it, like two or three, and we did not want it spreading.
- So we shut down the whole social dining room.
- You know, we prevented family coming in
- without the correct screening, checking for temperatures,
- checking if they have anything that
- could make the residents compromised
- in order to get this virus.
- So we were really on our toes about that.
- We took the mandatory precautions that were needed
- and that were recommended by the CDC for just general viruses,
- not the coronavirus specifically.
- So we all had to wear masks.
- We all had to gown-up for rooms that had the virus in them.
- So we were really on top of everything.
- You know, the social dining room is closed as well.
- We weren't taking the residents out
- to have meals or anything like that.
- So we started on it really early prior to COVID hitting.
- But then once COVID did hit, and stronger
- mandated procedures were implemented by the governor,
- we had to just say no to any or all visitors.
- So no visitors were allowed.
- And even if people wanted to come in to visit,
- the only way was to do window visits with the windows closed.
- So we would close the windows, and we'd
- have them be face-to-face across the window,
- but they would have to call over the phone in order
- to talk with each other.
- So those are a couple of the things that were
- really different about the two.
- So can you tell us a little bit about how did it
- impact the inmates. I mean, the fact that they
- were not able to see their families.
- Like, we know about how social distancing has been difficult
- for families, you know?
- But, I mean, what is it like to be
- inside a facility such as yours and then
- not be allowed to sort of see family at all?
- Can you talk about their mental state
- or what were they expressing?
- Yeah, so we as nursing aides, we learn a lot about mental health
- with elderly being in nursing homes
- feeling like they don't have any control over their life
- sort of thing.
- And being forced to just be in their rooms all the time,
- not being allowed to go out, not allowed to even see
- their family, I'm certain that took
- a toll on a lot of the patients and a lot of the residents.
- You know, just the simple fact of getting up and either
- walking, or even going out of their rooms,
- and going to the dining hall, and getting
- that sort of stimulus to the brain where
- people are around you.
- They're having conversations.
- You're having conversations.
- Even for residents that had dementia and stuff like that,
- we noticed a big drop-off in their mental health and
- how they interact on a daily basis with us from before COVID
- and after.
- It's just generally, just a sense of like,
- when is this going to end sort of thing
- for the people that are alert and oriented.
- But even for people like residents that do
- have dementia and don't certainly
- have a good grasp on things right now in general,
- even they can subconsciously-- you
- could see that they aren't feeling the best being told
- to just stay in their rooms, no wandering about, no going out.
- So it's been tough on them for sure.
- Mm-hmm, and what about you?
- I mean, we're reading all this about essential workers, right?
- I mean, just the term has now become such an important term,
- right?
- Since March that the spotlight is on essential workers.
- How has the experience been?
- What has been some of the struggles, the challenges,
- especially during the beginning months?
- And I know in Washington, it got better then it got worse,
- so there have been phases.
- So can you talk to us about that, please?
- Yeah, so basically, as essential workers,
- it's really difficult to put into words
- what it feels like because for us it just felt like, OK,
- we're going to go to work now, right?
- It was just a normal thing because, as I said,
- we had been implementing the proper precautions
- since January, and we had the proper equipment and everything
- like that ready to go.
- But even being well-equipped and everything,
- I believe early April, or May, or sometime around there--
- March or April-- when the state was mandated
- to have masks, have PPE around with residents and everything
- like that, ever since they mandated it,
- a lot of the PPE equipment was running low nationwide, right?
- Like for about a month or so where
- it was a struggle to be able to wear a mask for one resident
- individually.
- Each time you go into a room it's a new mask
- to prevent infections and stuff like that.
- But it really hit us that we're really
- in a pandemic sort of situation when
- we were told that it's OK to wear
- a mask throughout a whole shift no matter
- how many residents you come into contact with.
- So it was really like, OK, this is real, you know?
- And like it's a nationwide thing.
- It's not just like in some other third-world country
- or like over the seas in Europe or something
- where we're not going to be affected by it.
- But we saw a big decline in PPE, and people
- were struggling to get masks, or gloves, or stuff like that.
- And it was like another thing was that we also
- have a wing that accepts residents
- from the hospital that are short-term care.
- You know, they come in with like, they come in post-op.
- They have like hip surgery or some type of shoulder surgery
- where they're just going to be here
- for a couple of days, a couple of weeks,
- and then they're going to go on home.
- So we had to shut that wing down as well because we didn't want
- to bring new people into the facility that do have
- or that may have a chance of having the virus, right?
- So that was one of the other big changes.
- And then along with that, as far as the PPE goes,
- we were running so low at a certain point
- that we had to wear like, nightgowns as actual PPE gowns,
- you know?
- Because we didn't have those, so we had to use nightgowns
- to protect ourselves-- the ones that have half-sleeves
- and your arms are showing.
- So I mean, it doesn't really do much.
- So at that point, it was really a question of are we
- really keeping ourselves safe and stuff like that?
- But the administration, they were
- really good with keeping an open dialogue with us telling us
- like, hey, we're running low on this.
- This is what we're going to do instead.
- And at a certain point, we were surprised to hear
- that a lot of these other facilities--
- like we knew other facilities were having problems,
- but at a certain point different facilities
- and different medical fields, they
- were starting to barter these items.
- They started doing exchanges amongst those administration's.
- Like they were telling us a story
- where they would give an X amount of boxes
- to a different nursing home, and then that nursing home would
- give us an X amount of gowns, or an X
- amount of masks and something.
- So that was very interesting to see how everyone's affected,
- but there's a way to get through it, you know?
- So we sort of just bartered our way through
- and tried to buy some time.
- And, yeah, that was very difficult too.
- Because we couldn't ensure our own safety
- while taking care of these residents,
- so that was a scary time as well.
- Mm-hmm, so there's a shortage of masks,
- and you're an essential worker.
- You want to keep your family safe, but at the same time,
- you have to work because you need these hours.
- Was it difficult showing up for work?
- Well, it was difficult because, like I said,
- the administration kept an open dialogue with us, you know?
- And they told us everything that was happening
- like who the CDC said was predisposed
- to get this disease, and who was at the most
- risk and everything.
- So seeing these statistics, seeing all of the information,
- a lot of the nurses around us were really questioning it,
- especially the more elderly ones that had people at risk at home
- or they were at risk themselves.
- They started questioning if it was really worth it.
- And then management was really, really accommodating
- to say that, hey, even if you do decide to leave,
- your position here is ensured or at least we
- will try to work up working you back into the schedule
- once everything settles down.
- So there was a couple of nurses that ended up
- having to take time off to be with their family
- because they don't want to expose themselves to the virus
- and then bring it back home where they have
- a spouse or a family relative that has pre-existing health
- problems that could get them hit harder by COVID.
- So that's when it really starts to get you thinking about it
- sort of.
- Because not necessarily like, us, we're
- relatively young-- you know, a lot of the aides
- are relatively young-- so it wasn't a question about like,
- oh, if you get it, are you going to survive?
- It's more about when you take it home,
- and especially if you're living with a family that
- does have pre-existing health problems,
- are they going to be safe, you know?
- You don't want to be the reason that they end up
- getting something that costs them their lives, right?
- So there was a time where I was really
- questioning if it was really worth it in that sense.
- But at the end of the day, I did choose
- to be in a medical field, so we're always going
- to be at the frontline of this.
- And this is one of the necessary sacrifices
- to be made, so, we just took the extra precautions.
- So we just made sure that we wiped everything down
- in our cars before we went home, you know?
- Made sure our scrubs were in a bag.
- We'd change at work right before we get off shift or get
- on shift so we wouldn't take those clothes back home that
- were potentially infected but probably weren't.
- But you know, we just wanted to take the proper precautions
- in order to really make sure that our family was
- safe above all.
- Mm-hmm, so you know right now at the start of August,
- school is starting.
- So there are all these kinds of conversations
- happening about school.
- And I'm wondering what kind of conversations
- happen in a medical facility where
- you are medical practitioners?
- And what are some of the critical conversations
- happening?
- How are you or are people in your sector, looking
- at the future with optimism, with pessimism,
- or a mixture of both, or how?
- What are the conversations like?
- So a lot of the aides that are working there,
- they're nursing-bound.
- So they're either in the nursing program
- or they're going to eventually apply into the nursing program.
- So the ones that were in the nursing programs,
- they were telling me some really strange things that they'd have
- to accommodate for because classes weren't--
- at least this past spring quarter--
- classes weren't allowed to be held in person.
- So a lot of the clinical work that they were supposed to do--
- well, clinical is where they go to a facility and practice what
- they've learned, and passing out meds,
- or doing things like that--
- that totally got taken away.
- So they weren't allowed to have the clinicals, so they didn't
- have that clinical experience that they were supposed
- to have which is really essential to actually know
- what being a nurse actually feels like.
- Along with that, even throughout their whole training,
- they would have to simulate it.
- They'd have computer programs where
- it would be like, OK, in order to administer medication,
- what do you do first?
- And you'd have to click on a screen and say, OK, wash hands,
- do this, right?
- And for simple things like passing meds,
- it's like, OK, that's self-explanatory.
- We could get through it without having a hands-on experience.
- But for things like administering a catheter,
- or providing other medications, or any hard-- like giving
- a flu shot, or things like that, right?
- So stuff that you need to have a hands-on experience with,
- those sort of things where it's being automated
- and it's just to click on a screen,
- I feel like it's kind of hard to learn
- that way as far as nurses.
- And it really puts into question the type
- of nurses that they are going to become because they didn't get
- the proper education as far as hands-on training
- sort of things.
- So it was interesting to see how all these things were being--
- they're trying to get through it, obviously.
- Like the schools, they don't want
- to cost the students a year or so of waiting around,
- but it's still very interesting for sure.
- So what you're saying, I hear that as like the conversation
- is how the pandemic is just shaping your sector in terms
- of how nurses are now going to be trained,
- at least over the few months.
- Just the way nurses get trained, that's changing.
- And the nurses themselves are questioning the kind
- of education they're receiving.
- What about your classes?
- How have they gone?
- Well, yeah, so one other thing about them
- was that eventually going throughout their--
- for now, they're on break, right?
- But when fall semester comes, they
- were saying that they were going to start doing clinicals again.
- But the thing is if they're going to be exposing themselves
- to hospital patients or stuff like
- that, they wouldn't be allowed to work
- at the facility like at Mt.
- Baker Care Center.
- So it's sort of like they have to choose
- between making money and being able to pay rent,
- or their education, or to be able to go into clinicals
- and get that hands-on experience.
- So that's going to be a tough decision
- to make for a lot of people.
- And I don't know if there is like an opt-out option
- or a safer option, but these are the decisions
- that these nursing students are going to have to go through.
- But as far as my experience goes,
- so I'm just working on my prereq sort
- of getting into the science classes,
- getting my chemistry series done,
- and getting my anatomy stuff out of the way.
- So at the time, I had generally, like a class that
- is taught in person in anatomy, but this was the first quarter
- that they did it online like a lot of classes were.
- And generally, the experience was
- I would say 75% positive, 25% negative.
- The positive, mostly was how accommodating the teachers
- were, and how accommodating the instructors,
- and the professors were.
- You know, they understood it was a pandemic,
- and a lot of people, like some were working.
- Right off the bat, I told them that I had work
- and I have other responsibilities too
- to the house, you know?
- Because my parents, they haven't been going out and getting
- groceries and stuff like that.
- I've had to go in and go because I don't really
- trust them to take the proper precautions and be safe.
- So I was like, OK.
- So I had a lot on my plate going on.
- So they're very accommodating with deadlines
- and really trying to provide us in any way
- that they can with any help that we needed in that sense.
- But also the thing is like a lot of the exams, I would say,
- were open-book.
- So we don't really have to commit a lot of the things
- that we would necessarily have to in order for us to pass
- a real in-class exam to memory.
- So it was just questioning the quality
- of learning that we got because we just
- passed by with just very minimal amount of effort
- committing stuff to memory sort of thing.
- But and then the negative part was
- that some of the instructors weren't as accommodating.
- You know, they weren't as lenient with due dates
- or they weren't as understanding,
- I guess, about the pandemic which is very strange to me.
- I think they assumed that there's a pandemic going on.
- Everyone's at home.
- There's no amount of stress going around,
- which is very strange to me.
- Because I feel like the world is at a very difficult position.
- And students have to still worry about their grades and stuff,
- you know?
- And they start to learn, but there
- should be some sort of understanding on their part.
- But that was the only sort of negative part.
- But overall it was not as bad as one would assume it would be so
- So and how are things-- this is my last question on Mt.
- Baker-- but how are things at Mt.
- Baker right now?
- You have all the protective gear that you need?
- Are things looking better or?
- Yes, so I think a couple months ago,
- a lot of companies and a lot of the community
- started seeing essential workers aren't properly protected.
- They don't have the proper equipment.
- So a lot of people in the community
- started making masks by hand and then donating them to the hospital
- or even to us.
- So that was very helpful.
- A lot of distilleries like alcohol distilleries,
- they started switching up their production
- into trying to make hand sanitizer for all of us.
- And we started getting glass jars that
- were supposed to be tequila bottles,
- but they ended up being hand sanitizer,
- being sent to our facility and stuff like that.
- And a lot of diaper companies started making masks.
- And so when we started, sort of had
- to play catch up as a nation, you
- know, trying to get us essential workers protected
- and everything like that.
- But eventually, we caught up, and now I
- feel like we're in a good place where PPE-wise we do
- have everything that we need.
- We're still limited to one mask a day sort of thing,
- so it's not like individual masks for individual people.
- But we're making the most of it, and making sure
- that we keep ourselves safe and the residents safe as well.
- Well, these are incredible stories.
- I mean, thank you for sharing these with us.
- And there's a question that we're asking everyone
- in the series is was there a moment when you realized
- that you're living through a global pandemic, and if so,
- can you describe the moment?
- So really, like I said, we were in shut down early January,
- right?
- Because of the other virus that we had.
- So switching over when it was like, OK, this is mandated now,
- and switching over it wasn't really like, OK,
- this is a pandemic.
- We were just sort of going through the motions,
- you know, not really thinking of it as bad as it is.
- But then the news broke out that one nursing home here
- in Bellingham, I believe, Alderwood or something,
- they had like 30 residents or 30 people among staff
- and residents get COVID in just in a matter of a day or two,
- right?
- So that's when, and then also in Kirkland, I believe,
- closer to the Seattle area, they had
- a person that came into the building,
- and they brought in COVID, and they
- didn't have the proper protection
- or the proper protocols in place.
- And that led to the whole facility getting the virus.
- So those sort of stories really hit home with us,
- and we didn't want to be the next frontline
- page on Bellingham Herald that these guys didn't
- do their jobs properly.
- They cost so many of their family members--
- so many residents' lives because we just
- weren't careful enough so.
- You know, from day one because of the open dialogue
- that the administration and management had with us,
- they would always just preach that you're
- more likely to bring in the virus and give it to a resident
- than you are from getting it from a resident
- because they're always in their rooms.
- But we're the ones that are out and about,
- so it's our responsibility as health care
- workers and essential workers to just take
- the high road for a couple of months.
- Don't go out partying like you normally do, you know?
- And just sort of keep the social distancing,
- keep good hand hygiene, and just overall be
- safe in order to keep everyone around you safe.
- I hear you.
- I mean, it's something to read something
- in the newspaper about what's happening in Wuhan
- or what's happening in something in Italy,
- but it's something that's happening in Seattle,
- and in Bellingham, it like really hits you.
- So is there anything else you would like to share with us?
- Well, no, it's just the general, like I said,
- as like initially we were ill-prepared
- and just sort of like switching gears by the whole community.
- You know, just providing, like I said,
- the alcohol distillery, the company is starting
- to make masks for us, trying to make sure essential workers are
- safe and everything like that.
- And the biggest thing was like just everybody starting
- to do their part where we saw Washington state go down,
- you know, the number of cases.
- That was nice to see.
- And it's just the overall message should just
- be from everyone just to do your part, you know?
- And I saw this thing on the internet
- it's like we can literally save the world by sitting at home
- and watching TV.
- Like, it's not that hard to not be able to suppress this virus.
- So we all really need to do our part
- and just be focused on getting better as a society, you know?
- And do our part and overall keep everybody safe around us so.
- Thank you so much, Gursewak.
- So Ruth thanks you.
- You know, she's written on the text that thank you,
- Gursewak for sharing your story and also all that you do at Mt.
- Baker, and I would just like to add voice to that.
- I mean, one, for talking to us it's Stories to Tell
- but also for being an essential worker.
- Thank you for deciding every day to go to your work
- before your family and your private life.
- So thank you for that, and now, if we
- have any questions for Gursewak, this would be the time.
- Hi, I do.
- I do.
- Hi, Amber.
- Hi, Dharitri, I'm sorry.
- Hi, Gursewak, I'm sorry that I'm driving a car with a sleeping
- child in the back seat, so I'm going to do my best here.
- But thank you so much for your story.
- It was really quite moving to listen to you map out
- the network of care in which you work,
- and even to hear you speak with such grace
- about your management and the way they communicated.
- And I think throughout this whole series of Stories
- To Tell, this is a kind of a pattern
- that we've heard among Dharitri's guests
- that there's really a sense among everyone she's
- interviewed of being a part of a community.
- And I think you drew that out really beautifully.
- And I had a question for you that
- sort of tries to tie together your upbringing as a Punjabi
- Sikh American and the culture of the United States,
- particularly because you work in a skilled nursing
- facility with elderly patients.
- My family is from Pakistan.
- I've lived in India, and Pakistan, and Bangladesh,
- over my whole life.
- But one of the things that has always struck me
- when I'm speaking to people from the subcontinent
- is they tend to be very critical of the fact
- that in the United States, the elderly don't live
- at home with their families.
- And so I'm wondering if you could speak a little bit
- about that culture shift and whether you encounter
- any resistance or criticism within the Sikh American
- or the Punjabi community because of the kind of place
- that [AUDIO CUTS OUT] have had conversations about that
- [AUDIO CUTS OUT] where you work.
- Yeah, so, well, the thing about the Punjabi Sikh community
- and one of the main principles of Sikhism
- is selfless service, right?
- Where if we do have something-- if we do have an ability
- to help other people--
- that is like the priority of our religion,
- and that's the go-to thing.
- So not necessarily a lot of comments about that
- from the community I feel like.
- The main thing about--
- like when I am in the facility and talking to other nurses
- or anything like that, they have a general understanding,
- and they obviously educate themselves as well about this.
- Where we as a culture-- like the South Asian cultures and stuff
- like that-- we tend to be like, we have the belief
- that we should, as children, [? even ?] like our parents
- took care of us when we weren't capable of doing it
- for ourselves.
- Like going down the line as our parents get older,
- that responsibility comes back to us, right?
- As their children, that we need to be
- able to be there for them.
- But the thing about American society is that they--
- I've seen both sides of the field.
- They're really big on independency, you know?
- So they want to be like, OK, I'm 18 now,
- and it's time to move out.
- I want to have my own concerns, and my own responsibilities,
- and stuff like that.
- So they go down that route.
- And then eventually, I guess it's just a norm.
- Like, I've seen families here at the facility that people
- tend to think that, OK, you sent your parents to the nursing
- home.
- That's neglectful.
- Like, you have the necessary means to take care of them
- at home.
- Why are you doing this?
- But the thing is a lot of families
- that are in nursing homes, they're very, very loving
- towards their parents, you know?
- It's not like they don't want them
- to be a part of their families.
- It's that they just don't have the equipment.
- They don't have the means.
- They don't have the training in order to take care of them.
- So it's not necessarily a bad decision
- that they make that they're like,
- OK, we're going to cast you off.
- Nobody should ever feel guilty about that
- because, at the end of the day, it's
- what's best for their parents, what's best for their family.
- For example, there's this one family
- that they would always have one person every evening even
- through like snow days.
- I remember this past winter, there
- was a couple of days where everybody was snowed in.
- And even in those days where it was difficult to even get
- on the road in the first place, they
- would always show up and be there
- for the grandmother and their mother, right?
- So they were always there in the evening, have a meal with them,
- have dinner with them.
- And then they would get them ready for bed on their own,
- you know?
- Brush their teeth and take care--
- do a lot of the cares for them, you know?
- Because they felt like that was one way
- that they were giving back to their parents.
- So it was like it's not that it's neglectful,
- so nobody should ever feel bad about that,
- but it's just different cultures,
- different ways that we take care of our elderly.
- But, yeah, it's just the main difference
- is that we as like South Asian communities,
- feel like we have a responsibility
- to do it ourselves, whereas, in American society,
- it's more like if we're not capable,
- we're going to find somebody that's
- more suitable to the job.
- Whereas, us, like Indians and us South Asian communities,
- we're more like, OK, we're going to learn how to do it.
- And we're going to try to do it to the best of our abilities,
- right?
- So not one is more right than the other,
- but it's just different in their own ways.
- Mm-hmm, Amber, that was a great question,
- and Gursewak, a very, very nice response.
- Yeah, thank you.
- Yeah, and thank you for the question.
- It was good.
- OK, any other questions, anyone?
- Well, thank you so much.
- Back to you, Athena.
- Thank you so much.
- Another important and great conversation that really just
- has me thinking and processing.
- Thank you so much for being here today for this interview.
- I really appreciate it.
- Yeah, my pleasure.
- Yeah, thank you very, very much.
- And for what you're doing I want to echo that as well,
- and thank you so much.
- And just for being so honest about the whole experience
- and how it's been for you and your family, thank you.
- And thank you to our audience as well.
- You're very important to us, and you ask wonderful questions.
- And that's wonderful as well.
- So thank you, everyone, for being here today
- and for joining us for Stories To Tell.
- We have one more, right, Dharitri?
- We have one more on Thursday.
- I hope you can join us.
- That's the last one, so I hope everyone will come.
- And then thank you, Ruth, and thank you,
- Amber, for always joining in, and, Gursewak, bye-bye.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you, and have a wonderful afternoon, everybody.
- Thank you so much this interview.
- Bye.
- Bye.