- Hospital staff of the Bordeaux University Hospital received, this Friday, 23 "Thank you" medals among the first 1,000 keystrokes offered by the Monnaie de Paris to the Bordeaux health establishment.
- This symbolic medal honors, according to the director of the Bordeaux University Hospital, the caregivers who were able to "show responsiveness, adaptability and generosity during this epidemic crisis" of the Covid-19.
- Virologists, doctors, nurses or pharmacists present accepted this medal with a smile and many of them hope that it is only "the beginning of a wider recognition".
“A medal puts a little bit of balm in the heart, but it won't be enough. This Thursday, at the Haut-Lévêque hospital in Bordeaux, 23 hospital professionals (nurses, doctors, virologist, resuscitation surgeon, etc.) received from the hands of Marc Schwartz, CEO of the Monnaie de Paris, a piece flanked by 'a beautiful “Thank you” *. Smiling behind their masks, Dr Olivier Guisset, head of the intensive care unit, Frédérique Pribat, pharmacist, Mathilde Puges doctor in the service of infectious diseases or Rudy Bouty, hospital technician, slipped the medal that "pays tribute to women and to the men ”who knew, according to Yann Bubien, director of the CHU of Bordeaux,“ to show reactivity, adaptability and generosity during this epidemic crisis ”.
Randomly on the calendar, this medal day is fixed when, on social networks, caregivers denounce the "medal of commitment" emerged from the closet by the executive. Impossible then, in Bordeaux, not to ask the smiling staff the question. And for many “medalists” the silver coin has a bitter taste and this “Thank you” should not act as the balance of any account.
"It is the beginning of a wider recognition"
"It was very hard mentally, our only goal was to hold out until the end, so yes, this medal already puts a little balm in the heart, but it will not be enough," says Linda Gombeaud, who made a cross on his vacation and rest days since the end of January and the arrival of the first case of Covid-19 at the Bordeaux University Hospital. "Today, we are breathing a bit, we find a semblance of daily life in our respective departments, but we know that the fight is not over. We can still be mobilized and we have to be ready. It is exhausting morally, continues the 27-year-old hospital services agent. This medal is a first award, proof of awareness. But we also hope that it is not finished, that it is the beginning of a wider recognition. "
"Recognition which will have to go through a salary increase," slides Professor Marie-Edith Lafon gently. The head of virology at CHU Pellegrin knows that she "is one of the privileged" of the hospital but espouses the cause of her young sisters. “We had to be there all the time, be ready to receive different information at all times, stay connected, remembers the one who has worked at the CHU girondin for over twenty years. It was a unique period but it will last and the hospital staff will remain mobilized so this medal should only be a first step. "
By his side, Elisabeth Chazal, 22 years old. The young nurse in general care (IDE) was in intensive care when the Covid-19 arrived. Barely three years in the business behind her and she is already "well aware of the risks that must be taken every day and the investment required". “I agree with my colleagues, it will take the hospital much more than a medal. This piece is touching, like the applause at 8 pm, but it will be necessary that the acknowledgments do not transform into actions ”, adds the young woman who speaks however of“ pride ”while looking at her Monnaie de Paris. On the silver circle, a female doctor seems to take control, "as often behind the scenes during the crisis," notes Marie-Edith Lafon. And it is these thousands of women on the front lines, at the Bordeaux University Hospital as elsewhere in France, that the Monnaie de Paris wanted to honor. Surrounded by a firefighter and a garbage collector, she stands in front of applauding hands.
Read our file on the Covid-19
"This controversy is bad because, really, we wanted to mark the occasion and underline the work of our caregivers, here in Bordeaux," regrets Olivia Rufat, director of health care. The proposition of the Monnaie de Paris was honest and the coin is really neat. Especially since today, the CHU made sure to thank the entire chain of effort, from the staff who welcomed the first case of Covid-19 in Bordeaux to the restoration. This Wednesday, 23 hospital staff received this "Thank you", the other 977 first keystrokes will soon be given to other caregivers at the Bordeaux University Hospital.
Society
Coronavirus in Bordeaux: This epidemic "is a long-distance race that will last for weeks, even months"
Bordeaux
Coronavirus: How hospitals “at war” are coming to the fore on social networks
* It is also possible to support the Fondation de France by purchasing a “thank you” medal at 8 euros on the Monnaie de Paris website. Six euros will be donated to the action "All united against the virus" which helps caregivers and research.
- Covid 19
- Aquitaine
- Bordeaux
- Video
- Coronavirus