City, DDDA, Serve Meals To "Healthcare Heroes"

A little lunch - and a lot of encouragement - were on the menu Thursday for the staff of Hamilton Medical Center.

The City of Dalton and Downtown Dalton Development Authority teamed up to feed lunch to the hospital's staff in a show of support for the hard work they're doing in the face of a rise in COVID-19 cases in our region. The latest data released by Hamilton on August 18th indicated that the hospital had 70 patients admitted with the disease, including 11 patients in intensive care and 8 using ventilators. Those numbers are in addition to the normal number of patients in the hospital for other reasons. All of that adds up to a heavy work load for the nurses, doctors, pharmacists, technicians, therapists, and assorted other staff who are tasked with working to get people well. 

So, City and DDDA staff teamed up to serve a meal from Buckin' Burrito and Mama Wilson's cookies to the day shift crew, and plans were in motion to come back and feed the night shift crew as well Thursday night and Sunday. For greater safety, the meal was set up outside in the cul de sac between the new Peeples Cacner Institute and the main hospital campus. Firefighters and police officers from Dalton's public safety agencies, all wearing masks, served food to the hospital's staff members who were also masked except for when eating. And to put a little extra pep and energy into their day, the crew also played a lot of upbeat music to make the event feel a little more fun and festive. 

City leaders also continue to urge the Dalton and Whitfield County community - and in our surrounding area - to please get vaccinated against COVID-19. Research conducted by the CDC indicates that the vaccines are safe and effective. The vaccines reduce your chance of being infected with COVID-19 and they reduce the chances of developing serious symptoms for those who do become infected. City leaders also urge you to wear masks when in public places where you'll be close to other people and proper social distancing can't be accomplished. Please pay attention to the CDC's guidelines and be as mindful and safe as you can and be mindful of our community's situation with the spread of the virus. 

Being as safe and responsible as we can is the best way we can show our support to our healthcare workers.