Staff step up to help with patient care: Inside Team 19

Jordan Marvin, from CoxHealth’s Engineering department, has spent the past few weeks stepping outside his comfort zone in an effort to lend a hand to our clinical staff at Cox South as an overnight unit assistant.

“I just felt like if they needed my help, I was open to do it. Given the opportunity, I know we really needed it at this time,” he says.

Before the omicron surge, Marvin served on Engineering’s Refresh Team, working on construction projects that update and improve our facilities.

When cases spiked in January, CoxHealth activated Team 19 to support our caregivers. On this team, individuals from various departments can help wherever they are needed in our nursing units, allowing health care workers to focus on caring for their patients. Marvin, like many others around the system, answered the call to help.

“That extra set of hands just alleviated some of the anxiety and stress that the nurses were feeling,” says Gina Ellerbee, system director of Nursing Education. “They just overwhelmingly have been so positive about the engineering staff and everything that they’ve done.”

Through Team 19, Marvin witnessed patient care through the perspective of the front line. Seeing the fast-paced environment was eye opening.

“I would have never realized all of the care that goes into these patients,” Marvin says. “You see so much kindness going around. You would think with it being so busy it may slip here or there, but everyone is super kind. They truly give you the time that you need.”

Now, with omicron showing signs of waning, Marvin and other Team 19 volunteers are preparing to return to their previous roles.

In Marvin’s case, that means taking on projects like the recent update to the Cox North Emergency Department. Before joining Team 19, Marvin and the Engineering Refresh Team updated the ED from top to bottom, working in six different phases.