Zombies at the Hospital

The Day Before

  Friday morning was just normal. I woke up at 4 in the morning. I got ready for work, I put on my black pants and black polo tee. I pocketed my pens, grabbed my badge and shouldered my bag. I situated my hat before heading out and got a ride to the hospital. I know, I know. The hospital? He wears polos and works at the hospital?! No, I'm not a doctor and I'm not a nurse. I'm a Food Service Ambassador and according to the vice president of the hospital I'm just as important as a cardiologist.

  For those of you who don't know, the Food Service Ambassador is just a fancy name for room service. I'm a glorified waiter. I go to work and clock in at 5 am, I prep cold foods like salads and fresh fruit, I keep the Food Service fridge stocked, I make sure the tea is on and the coffee is brewing. Then when our census prints I write down every patient's name and room number then if night shift doesn't get their breakfast order I have to go out and socialize.

  It can be tricky approaching a sick patient at 6 in the morning. They may be grumpy, they probably don't feel good and they more than likely didn't get good sleep last night so ya gotta turn up the charm a little bit, unless it's a man, but you still have to be respectful and polite even to the grumpy ones. After getting orders I return to the kitchen where hopefully my fellow ambassadors have all arrived and are doing their jobs.

  I'm the expediter so I'm responsible for every tray that leaves the kitchen, I have to check the diets with the food and make sure the patient's food is okay for the diet set by the doctor, no allergens on the tray that could harm our patients and that the food is hot and ready for consumption. Once we finish with service we go to break, I always head back before my team and get started so they have less work to do. I pop in my earphones and blare music so I don't have to hear anyone.

  After the initial service, there are six jobs as a food service ambassador and they are as follows: Runner, Gatherer, Puller, Washer, Scraper, and Floater.

  The Runner; the runner takes all incoming phone requests that nurses may call in. A patient may want a drink or a snack and the nurse will call it in. The runner answers the phone and proceeds to complete the request in a timely manner.

  The Gatherer; the gatherer will go out into the hospital, also called the floor, and bring back kitchen carts filled with dirty trays to be washed. They go to each unit served by the kitchen. They can always run requests and often help the runner after their job is finished or help the floater.

  The Puller; the puller pulls the washed and sanitized dishes off and puts them on the drying racks. They are also able to take calls and run requests should the Runner be out on the floor.

  The Washer; the washer washes dishes and helps the Scraper do dishes in the Dish room, also called The Back. The washer washed the dishes given to them by the Scraper. The Washer then pushes the dishes through the dishwasher.

  The Scraper; The Scraper takes in the kitchen carts left by the Gatherer and discards the left over food from the patients. They are also responsible for scraping the cooks dishes. After scraping they give the dishes to the washer to be pushed through the dishwasher.

  Lastly there's The Floater; the Floater has no designated job and can therefore float to where they are needed most or can do many miscellaneous jobs throughout the kitchen, such as stocking the fridge, cutting fresh fruit or refilling the condiments. They may also help the Runner, Puller or Scraper if necessary.

  After the dishes are finished the process starts again, make the cards, take orders, serve food and  do the dishes. After this second service our job is done and we pass it over to the nightshift.

Side note: there are six set jobs but if we are under staffed many of us fulfill more than one job. With there being 3 Ambassadors as of late, I've had to do Gathering, Scraping, Running and Floater, while my compatriots washed and pulled.

  That's how a typical day of my job goes. Now if you told me that my life would change in the blink of an eye, I'd say bring it on. However, my life did change in the blink of an eye, and not in the best way. I didn't win the jackpot, I didn't find the love of my life by chance and I didn't die. No sir, my life went downhill like a blind man on crutches. You see, that Saturday near the end of my shift, someone decided to ruin my day.