Honoring the female 'warrior' in white

ROSES IN WHITE BLOUUSES

Of the 12,468 cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers in the health sector of Nghe An province, women account for 71.1%. Some take on this job, some take on that job, but they have created a tight chain, from the grassroots to the province, to participate in disease prevention work, contributing to protecting people's health and the peace of the country. "Female soldiers in white shirts" are the core force present on all front lines: treating and caring for patients, taking samples, testing, vaccinating, tracing, and zoning to contain the epidemic.

Medical staff conduct rapid Covid-19 tests for passengers at Vinh station. Photo: Thanh Cuong

During the outbreak, the women joined the army of testing samples, regardless of day or night, and were ordered to go.In protective gearcovered up and soaked in sweat, under the harsh weather of the hot Lao wind and sun, sudden thunderstorms, in the late night lights, going to every alley, knocking on every door, to promptly trace and isolate the epidemic area

Time for them is just a feeling, many long sleepless nights, cold lunch boxes eaten in a hurry, street corners are where they can take a few minutes to rest and then continue working, many cadres have collapsed from exhaustion.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet - Head of Nghi Dien Commune Health Station (Nghi Loc) said: The staff has 4 people, which is already hard on normal days, but at peak times of the epidemic, with the same number of people, they have to do all the work from consulting on plans, taking samples, tracing, vaccinating, coordinating monitoring, handling violations, taking care of F0 patients...

Female doctors and nurses from Nghe An Health Department take samples for rapid antigen testing for the community. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Ms. Ho Thi Guong - Specialist in national target programs, Quynh Thanh Commune Health Station, Quynh Luu District Health Center shared: At 10:00 p.m., she received information that there was a case of close contact with a Covid-19 patient in the area. Despite the rain and wind, she still left her child with relatives and then ran with her husband to the area that needed to be traced to take samples for testing. Her husband went with her because he was not comfortable going alone in the rain and wind at night. She was on duty all night, and he stayed up to encourage her. After finishing work, the couple hurried home so that he could teach in time for the morning shift, the two children could go to school, and she could prepare for a new work session.

From the leaders to the medical staff, they always demonstrate responsibility to set an example, ready to accept the task of determining the 3 together mentality (eating together, living together, working together to prevent and fight the epidemic), especially when entering the epidemic center, standing between the boundary of life and death, without shaking the spirit of the staff.white warrior, promoting the sense of responsibility towards the Party, the Fatherland, the People, and the Nghe An Health Sector. Ms. Dang Thi Mai Anh - Head of the Medical Station of Truong Thi Ward, Vinh City shared: During the epidemic, there is no distinction between the station chief and the staff, everyone works and has to do everything, without hesitation or formality, even as a cadre, one must know how to sacrifice for the staff, so one always takes on the hardest and most difficult part.

Preventing and fighting the epidemic in the plains is already difficult, but in the mountainous, remote districts such as Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Que Phong, and Quy Chau, it is even more difficult. "In some places, we have to travel by boat, raft, climb mountains, and wade through streams all day to get to the destination. There are still many difficulties, hardships, and shortages, but the women still stay with the people to test, propagate, advise, vaccinate, collect statistics, and synthesize... They only return home after 1-2 weeks" - Ms. Luong Thi Dong - Deputy Head of the Department of Testing and Diagnostic Imaging, Ky Son District Medical Center, recounted.

Tracing work in mountainous districts is extremely difficult. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Not only struggling to participate in the fight against the epidemic in the area, when entering the fierce and arduous battle in the southern provinces, with a courageous spirit, regardless of danger, 151/327 female soldiers in white shirts "heroically" volunteered to go to the epidemic center in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and before that, Da Nang, Ha Tinh.

PUT PERSONAL LOVE AWAY, COMPLETE THE MISSION

The female soldiers in white “did not choose easy work”, wherever and whenever they were, they were always ready to accept the mission. They determined: No matter the pain, no matter the fatigue, all for the purpose of public health, for the survival of the sick.

Because of the responsibility of a doctor, for the health of the people, even family concerns must sometimes be put aside. Putting aside personal matters, worries and anxieties when not being able to fulfill the duties of a child when the parents are sick; not being able to be there to take care of and encourage the child before the turning point in life during the important exam, on the first day of school. Many women swallow their tears and leave their children to be cared for by relatives, many of whom are in especially difficult circumstances.

Many female doctors and nurses volunteered to join the fight against the epidemic with a spirit of dedication. Photo: PV

That is Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Nga - Nurse of the Emergency Resuscitation Department, Northwest Regional General Hospital: has 2 children under 5 years old, her husband works far away, but has to leave the children with their grandparents, volunteered to go to support the South, working directly at Trung Vuong Hospital - where seriously ill patients are admitted. That is Ms. Le Thi Nhung, Nghe An Eye Hospital, two children, husband with epilepsy, old and weak parents but still volunteered to join the reinforcement for Field Hospital No. 13 of Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

There is also the case of a female medical worker who postponed her wedding twice to join the fight against the epidemic; many women, when on duty in contact with F0, had to go into centralized quarantine, far from their breastfed babies, countless nights pouring out cups of milk, tears falling because their breasts were still full, while outside their babies were crying for milk. These are people who, even though their houses are close, have not been able to see their relatives for 2-3 months. Many people skip family meals every time they receive a phone call about a hot spot for the epidemic...

The Health Sector Trade Union presents gifts to support medical staff on the front lines of the fight against the epidemic. Photo: PV

Comrade Pham Quoc Duong - ChairmanHealth Industry Unionshared: “The past two years have been two extremely difficult and challenging years for the Nghe An Health sector. It is difficult to measure all the silent sacrifices of female doctors and nurses. They have had to overcome all the pressures of life and the strict requirements of their profession and expertise, and also have to fulfill their duties as wives and mothers in a time-limited, high-volume and extremely stressful environment, but they have continuously devoted their efforts, intelligence, and even sacrificed themselves for the cause of caring for and protecting people's health.”

SHARING AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE UNION ORGANIZATION

Sharing the hardships and sacrifices of the women, the trade union organization promptly visited and encouraged them with a total converted amount of 6.4 billion VND. In addition to supporting activities in cash and material, all levelsNghe An Trade UnionThe Union also organized kitchens to support daily meals for concentrated quarantine areas and field hospitals in the locality. It is estimated that more than 10,000 working days have been carried out by union members in the whole province. In particular, the Health Sector Union alone has presented 379 safety insurance cards and supported visits and encouragement worth 447 million VND to health sector officers and employees participating in the fight against the epidemic. Those timely shares have contributed a small part to encouraging the spirit of the anti-epidemic force, including doctors, nurses, and white-shirt soldiers who are fighting day and night for the health of the people.

Nghe An Trade Union has implemented many practical care activities for frontline medical staff fighting the epidemic. Photo: Thanh Tung

The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is still ongoing, the medical force, represented by the women, continues to promote the good traditions and valuable experiences gained over time to actively contribute to the work of preventing and fighting the pandemic as well as the work of caring for and protecting people's health. The women - beautiful flowers wearing white blouses are beautifying the image of graceful and talented Vietnamese women, ready to sacrifice when the Fatherland needs them.