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“What is?” I have to admit, I’m feeling like a kid standing outside of Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory right now. I just want to find out what this contest is all about.
“Hey, Kat.” Turning, I see a gorgeous blonde coming toward us. “It’s been ages.”
“Hi, Ava. Ava, do you know Poppy?”
“I don’t think so. Hi.”
“Poppy is one of St. Luke’s pharmacists. But I knew her first.” Katarina giggles. “She had to put up with me when I worked at the drug store. It was my very first job.”
“Put up with you? You were the best pharmacy tech there. I was sorry to see you go. But on to bigger and better things, right?”
“Ava is a PA too. She works with Nick.”
“Oh, no way. That’s so cool.”
“Well, it’s not feeling so cool right now.”
Kat gives her a worried expression.
“Not because of your darling husband, silly. I can’t enter this contest.” Ava laughs.
Kat joins her. “Me either.”
“Why not?”
“We don’t work directly for the hospital like you do. We’re contracted employees in the ER.”
“Yeah, and I work for the Orthopedic practice. This contest is to help with staff retention. Only full-time employees of St. Luke’s are eligible. No temporary workers, locum’s hires, or travel nurses.”
Wow. I guess that’s a clever way to do it. “So, what’s the contest? I hadn’t known anything was happening until I came to the cafeteria and couldn’t get close enough to see what was going on.” I point to the overly congested dining area near the back windows.
“I thought I saw a table through the glass as I rounded the corner. The nurses have been taking turns coming up here. I think you have to fill something out to enter and turn it in to human resources.”
“You guys are killing me. What’s the prize?”
“It’s an all-expense paid trip to Jamaica. I think it’s for up to four family members,” Kat screeches, giving me overexcited jazz hands.
Holy cow. St. Luke’s must finally be getting serious about retaining their staff. That’s a heck of a lot better than free tickets to the local movie theater.
Ava smiles brightly. This girl is stunning. She’s got the most beautiful platinum blonde hair, fair skin, and big blue eyes. “I think they’re actually giving away three trips. They said they wanted to try and reward staff from different areas of the hospital.”
“What do you mean? Like maybe one for nursing, one for the folks in housekeeping dietary, or maintenance, and another for ancillary staff like physical therapy?”
“And you,” Katarina adds excitedly. “From what I hear, they’ve made it so that you get additional entries for every year you’ve worked here.” She beams at me like I’ve already won.
“How long have you worked here, Poppy?” Ava asks.
“Eight years.”
They both giggle and clap. “I don’t know the details. I’m only repeating what I heard some nurses say in the ER. Some of them actually complained it wouldn’t be fair to put them in one category because it’d give the other departments an unfair advantage due to the number of nurses working here. I couldn’t believe anyone would have the nerve to complain when they’re doing something this generous. But then again, they may have just been talking without knowing all the details,” Kat says. “Kinda like us.” She laughs.
I shake my head. “You can’t make everyone happy. I’m just impressed they’re going to such lengths to try and show their employees they’re worth all of this. It’s an expensive gesture.”
“From what I overheard on the elevator on the way down from our office, this is the beginning of a new recruitment and retention initiative. So, there may be more things coming. I, for one, am excited to live vicariously through you, Poppy.” Ava beams.
“Well, I haven’t won anything yet.”
“You need to squeeze that little body on up there and get yourself a form, missy. You have a good shot at this.” Kat claps.
