US medical professionals have devised an inventive way to celebrate Christmas in the time of the coronavirus: by decorating trees with hand sanitizer, face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE).
The trend is currently getting attention on social media, despite a continuing shortage of the equipment in increasingly burdened hospitals.
“Ohhhhh PPE . . . on my Christmas tree . . . makes me happy,” wrote one nursing-school graduate above a Facebook photo of a tree adorned with a face shield and rubber gloves like an evergreen ER doctor.
An interventional pulmonary fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital shared a Twitter pic of a tree decked out in disposable face masks. He quipped: “On the first day of #Christmas, my true love gave to me: appropriate PPE on a Christmas tree. Perhaps this will keep me Covid-Free.”
Not to be outdone, Captains Way Dentistry West in Knoxville, Tennessee, posted a Facebook photo of another festive shrub in scrubs in their office with the caption: “O, PPE, O PPE, how germ-free are thy branches!”
American medical practitioners weren’t the only ones jumping on the tree-PE train. An ambulance company in the UK went viral for its “toilet paper tree,” which also featured masks and gloves used as decorations.
Naturally, some might balk at the idea of using PPE as Christmas ornaments in the wake of rampant equipment shortages. However, most social-media users saw the practice as a lighthearted way for doctors to blow off steam amid the ongoing pandemic.
“This is the best!!!” commented one on a photo of a tree in doctor’s whites.
Another viewed the practice as way to “honor” medical professionals working on the front lines.
Many doctors managed to decorate their anti-COVID Christmas trees without squandering vital medical accessories. This eco-friendly specimen at the TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville reportedly features empty, repurposed disinfectant containers, a bum wipe “feather boa” comprised of photo paper and recycled masks and gloves.
“I am not wasting any PPE!! Promise,” wrote hospital office-assistant Aimee Roman on Facebook.
