Georgian alumni on the frontlines of the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is only one reason Freda Figueira will never forget the past year. She graduated from Practical Nursing at Georgian’s Owen Sound Campus, passed her licensing exam, and had a baby.

Then in March, just as the pandemic was escalating, Freda began her first full-time nursing position in the Inpatient Mental Health Unit at London Health Sciences Centre.

“At first our patients couldn’t have visitors, which took away the support of loved ones,” she says. “They couldn’t go outside, had to eat meals alone in their rooms. And many were frightened and confused seeing staff in masks and face shields. They were trying to deal with such serious issues and now COVID-19 had made everything so much more difficult.”

Working in mental health is a calling for Freda.

“I learned at Georgian we need to look at things holistically, and our mental health is part of that,” she says.

Shane Ellis, a 2017 Paramedic graduate, was on the job when COVID-19 became the sudden new reality.

“It changed everything really quickly,” he recalls. “It was very stressful for everyone, but we had our job to do.”

Shane has cared for a number of patients with COVID-19 symptoms. Some of his colleagues have filled in at long-term care homes during outbreaks. And the pandemic has increased paramedic protocols such as COVID-19 screening questions for everyone on the scene whether the call is for a heart attack or a serious car accident.

“When you need us, time matters,” he says. “But we need to keep everyone safe, including ourselves. I have learned to ask the questions pretty quickly; it’s become second nature.”

Like all health-care providers, Shane and Freda perform their jobs wearing enhanced and sometimes cumbersome personal protective equipment (PPE). It can include gowns, gloves, masks, face shields, goggles – the combination dependent on the situation.

“The career I chose is a risk to me and to my family,” says Freda. “Whether it’s COVID or something else, protecting myself first protects everyone else, including my 10-month old daughter.”

It’s possible some of Freda’s protective equipment could have been manufactured by other Georgian alumni. Justin Johnson (Class of 2017) and Kyle Morton (Class of 2007) are Mechanical Engineering Technology graduates who work at MPC Molded Precision Components in Oro-Medonte.

During a few short and very intense weeks this spring, MPC pivoted from manufacturing mainly auto parts to making headbands and face shields to protect frontline and essential workers.

“We started March 23 and maybe a week later, we’d gone through the entire design process, had a patent and were preparing to kick off the tooling,” says Kyle. “It was a massive undertaking, but the entire team put in the hours needed. We wanted to get the product done quickly to help as many people as possible, so we did what we had to do.”