Punk Rock HR Episode 105:
If you are like many, you may be wondering what you would do if you came down with COVID-19 and how you would maneuver the testing process, treatment, and recovery. Well, April Matan, my childhood bestie, is on the podcast today to share her experience. April is an HR-professional turned dental hygienist. She caught the novel coronavirus from her husband, who got it at work. She has since recovered, and of course, I am very relieved.
In today’s episode, April talks about navigating her COVID-19 diagnosis, her testing experience, her recovery, and shares her thoughts on returning to work. We also talk about what an absolute mess the COVID-19 response has been. My challenge for you today is to learn from April’s experiences.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- April shares how and when she began to feel sick, as well as some of her symptoms.
- She wants everyone listening to know the most important thing to understand is that you might not get the classic symptoms. You might be sick and not know you have COVID-19.
- How April went about getting medical help via a telemedicine appointment and what the doctor advised.
- She shares her entire testing experience, from how a website helped her determine if she was eligible for COVID-19 testing (she was) and what the testing experience was like.
- Find out how April got her test results and what happened when the CDC contacted her.
- Is this just like the flu? Hear April’s response.
- We discuss the notion of people rushing back to work. Is it a good idea?
- Many leaders are asking, “How do I know if my employees are working when they are working from home?” And, “If we let them work from home, how do we get them back to the office?” April shares her thoughts.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE FIRST SIGNS THAT APRIL WAS SICK?
April started feeling sick the first week of April. And the most important thing she wants everyone to understand is that you might not get the classic symptoms. For April, she wasn’t coughing at all. Instead, she got a fever, was cold, had chills and was achy. Then, after two days she felt better. Two days after that, she had a high fever for days at a time. Her entire body hurt and she lost the sense of taste. She wishes to express the seriousness of this illness. And while you may not present with the classic symptoms of COVID, if you’re sick, you may have it. So be careful.
HOW DID SHE FIND OUT SHE WAS COVID-19 POSITIVE?
April shares her experience, “My husband, Dave, started feeling sick, and he set up a telemedicine meeting with a physician. The doctor was extremely informative, and said that we could go on our group health site and fill out a survey, then based on that survey it would tell us if we’re eligible to be tested. So Dave did that. And Dave didn’t have enough symptoms to qualify. So they told him don’t get tested according to this website. When I got the symptoms about a week or two later, I did the same thing. I went on the website, I filled out the survey, the survey said, ‘Yes, you qualify.’ Then it sends you information for a testing center. You have to bring the letter that’s emailed to you from this website, or you have to print that out.” April went to the testing site, got tested and within a day, received her results by phone. She tested positive.
WAS A COVID-19 SURVIVOR, DENTAL HYGIENIST AND PREVIOUS HR PROFESSIONAL – WHAT DOES APRIL THINK ABOUT THE RUSH TO GET PEOPLE BACK TO WORK?
According to April, she thinks It’s a very bad idea. Why? Well, because the general public doesn’t have the healthcare background or education to understand cross contamination and germs. Yes, we all know to wash our hands. But there’s so much more that needs to happen to be sure everyone within an organization and workplace is safe. April thinks going back to work, right away, well, it would be horrific. For starters, management needs to put a plan in place for people who are working and also a plan into place for those coming back.
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