Page 70 - Southern Oregon Magazine Winter 2021

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neck of the woods | theatre
MIRABEL CELIS-SOLIS, an RN at Asante Ashland
Community Hospital, stands in need of a new cape, for her first
one was badly singed. September 8 was her day off, but she was
putting in extra hours during COVID. As she prepared to leave
for work, an officer informed her she needed to evacuate. “Leave
now!” he said. She grabbed her kids, her purse, her work bag, and drove
the agonizingly slow path north on I-5. Over the next days, they stayed
with friends in homes and in a tent, and in a hotel. She and her husband
eventually walked to their home, hoping against hope it still stood. They
arrived to find only ashes, the remnants of their lives.
The family’s next move will be to a temporary RV park for displaced
employees constructed by Asante on property they own. Asante pur-
chased slightly-used RVs, planning to sell them back to the company
when the park is dismantled in early spring. The cost to Asante employ-
ees will be minimal, according to Lauren Van Sickle, Asante spokesper-
son. “Providing an alternative source of housing has been an important
step to help our employees recover from the devastation of losing their
homes,” she says. “As part of the Asante community, our employees are
our most valued resource. We knew we had to help in any way possible.”

Mirabel is tired and emotionally spent. “Having the loss of your home is
one thing. Then, when I go to work, I have to pull myself together and
forget that and focus on patients.” Wearing cumbersome PPE, she has
worked in the COVID section dealing with elderly patients, as well as
others who are “pretty young.” The section is being expanded, yet each
time a bed becomes vacant, it is immediately filled.

After the emotional stress of work, Mirabel has to deal with insurance
companies, government bureaucracies, and the search for a place for
her family to settle. The paperwork is unending, the process of seeking
a new home arduous. She also has to deal with her children’s schooling,
though having a teacher husband helps immensely. “Every day brings
new challenges.”

Mirabel is grateful for her coworkers and her team, who make it doable.
“Every day I go to work,” she says, “I pray it will be a good day, that my
patients will be okay, and that my coworkers will be fine. That’s what
keeps me going.”

Each individual in the medical field this writer spoke to urged people
to take basic precautions—wear a mask, socially distance, avoid large
gatherings, and stay at home whenever possible. They said that by so
doing, we will see an end to the pandemic more quickly.

68 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | winter 2021