The Bunion occasionally takes a deep dive into some of the pain inflicted on our toes during this pandemic. In this piece, we take a closer look at the synergies between teachers and other essential workers.
Last week BUSD teacher Apple Rimott was trying to get an appointment with her healthcare provider when an email from her doctor arrived. She opened it and quickly decided it was a scam.
It was not. “It was an invitation to a Zoom call with my doctor and an orthopedic surgeon,” Ms. Rimott said.
Her physician, Dr. Dis Won Hert wanted to walk her through a procedure for a very common pandemic injury — she stubbed her big toe on the kitchen table while making a sandwich. Dr. Akyl S. Heal, the orthopedic surgeon, would direct the procedure.
“I had a broken toe, and they wanted to perform a medical procedure via Zoom,” said Ms. Rimott. And in Ms. Rimotto’s case, that procedure was not at all straight-forward. “I have a bunion,” the teacher said.
It turns out, doctors are adapting to a reality teachers are very familiar with. “They have now shifted all medical procedures to Zoom,” Ms. Rimott said.
Medical professionals are very excited about the prospects of tele-surgery. Dr. Heal was enthusiastic. “We don’t need patients to come into a hospital. Google OperatingRoom has everything we need. We post a checklist for each procedure, and patients click ‘Submit’ for each step they complete. It’s a bit like the Google Classroom system our kids use for school, but for patients,” Dr. Heal said.
This new system has not been rolled out to everyone. For now, only teachers are enrolled in it. “It’s only for those essential workers who work remotely. Who could be a better audience than the people who invented the remote essential worker model?” asked Dr. Won Hert.
Dr. Hippocratia Steech-Alot, president of the Berkeley Federation of Tele-surgeons (BFT) explains the origins of the idea. “It came from an unexpected place. Many of our members noticed how well distance learning was working for their kids. It suddenly dawned on us that we could adapt distance learning to medical procedures. After all, we know that distance learning is working very well, and there is no learning loss,” she said.
And doctors are seeing tangible results. “We track success by the number of days patients spend at the hospital. With tele-surgery, we’ve been able to reduce this down to zero — patients are already at home. It’s a win-win,” said Dr. Steech-Alot.
Backlash
With all this success, there has been some criticism.
Some teachers say it is too much for them. “I didn’t go to med school, I don’t have medical supplies, how am I supposed to treat my family’s medical issues?” asked Ms. Rimott.
Here too, doctors looked to distance learning, where teachers had already solved some of these problems. “Our kids’ school offers drive-by materials pickup. We do the same with our patients. We give them very simple and easy-to-use props. Everyone gets a copy of Gray’s Anatomy and a thermometer. Besides, our great doctors are right there on your screen to walk you through it. And, they can simultaneously help their own kids with online school,” said Dr. Steech-Alot.
If I have to be the family doctor, I can’t work. I will lose my job
Apple Rimott, BUSD teacher
Ms. Rimott is now looking to switch to a different healthcare provider. “I can’t do my work if I have to be the family doctor. I will lose my job,” said Ms. Rimott. Unconfirmed reports indicate that, indeed, some teachers are having to quit their jobs to take on this extra responsibility.
Dr. Steech-Alot can relate. “Believe me, we know all about that. Our members have been homeschooling their kids for a whole year. But, look, we didn’t need training or teaching experience. All it took was being personally invested in it — after all, it’s our kids — and that motivated us to step up as parents and help make distance learning a success. It’s really no different with healthcare. Everyone is personally invested in their own health, right? That’s all it takes. It can be done.”
Some teachers say this is a step too far, and are lobbying officials to intervene. They wrote a letter to city officials, including City of Berkeley Health officer Dr. Rona Arnot, asking them to mandate the reopening of hospitals for in-person surgery.
A slippery slope.
Dr. Steech-Alot also points out that there are hidden benefits to telehealth. “Any time teachers don’t have to drive to a hospital is time they can spend teaching our kids on Zoom. That improves educational outcomes,” she said.
Meyer Lemon, president of the Berkeley teachers’ union finds this rhetoric alarming. “That is such a slippery slope. What do doctors know about teaching, or educational outcomes? It would be as if teachers dictated public health standards. We don’t know anything about public health, we are not medical professionals, our union would never do that. We believe in science, and we trust doctors,” he said.
Teachers […] invented this model and we expected they’d be eager to make it a success.
Doctors recognize the rollout of the pilot was bumpy. “There is always room for improvement. We thought teachers would be very receptive to piloting this new system. After all, they invented this model, and we expected they’d be eager to make it a success,” said Dr. Steech-Alot.
Doctors are now rethinking that approach and looking for a more appropriate patient group. “We are now shifting the pilot to a smaller group who have already demonstrated their bold leadership and commitment to preventing paralysis. We are implementing telehealth with the School Board Trustees and Superintendent,” said Dr. Steech-Alot.
Update: The Bunion was informed by one of our loyal readers that they extended a courtesy gift to Ms. Rimott. “We are sending her a voucher for a BigToe mani-pedi package” said Ruby Slipars, spokesperson at Callus-Toga Inn and Spa. We circled back with Ms. Rimott, who was thrilled. “I love vouchers,” she wrote in an email response.
Additional reporting by Fifi Starina, education equity reporter, mother and lifelong learner.