‘Essential businesses’ deal with long hours, virus fears

By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com
With the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic causing Gov. Tom Wolf to issue a state-wide mandate suggesting non-essential businesses shut their doors or scale back on services, Mon Valley-wide business owners and their employees are feeling the financial crunch.
But what about essential businesses that must stay open and provide services to their communities at the risk of becoming the next confirmed coronavirus case?
Many business owners expressed concern for their employees, family members and customers, while also asking for the public’s help in making these uncertain times a bit smoother.
“In our business, we can’t stop when something comes out that poses a health problem,” said Joe Eori Sr., owner of Big’s Sanitation in Rostraver with 95 employees and running 70 trucks a day. “This is a tragedy, but this is one business that can’t stop. People are stuck at home doing their spring cleaning a little bit earlier. We ask that people put everything in one big bag instead of a bunch of little bags that force our workers to stick their heads in the garbage cans. There are a lot of germs out there that people don’t think about.”
And sanitation workers aren’t the only ones worried about germs.
Businesses ranging from funeral homes to emergency services have changed policies and procedures in dealing with the public.
“It effects us greatly,” said Michael Stangroom, operations director at the Rostraver West Newton Emergency Service. “We don’t have the ability to shut our doors and wait it out. We’re on the front line.”
Stangroom said his EMS is currently following Center for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local guidelines to minimize the spread of coronavirus, which includes keeping a safe distance between individuals, avoiding gatherings of 10 or more people and wearing protective gear such as gowns, N95 masks and eye protection.
“We screen people from 6-feet away, and if they show symptoms a gown must be worn,” Stangroom said. “We automatically put a mask on them.”
The coronavirus outbreak has impacted funeral homes to the point where visitations, services and office hours have been affected.
“This is getting a little scary for us,” said Shelby Ferguson, supervisor at Ferguson Funeral Home and Crematory Inc. in North Belle Vernon. “I’m concerned for the public’s health as well as my employees and family. I’m more concerned about our health than money. I don’t want a pandemic to start here in my funeral home.”
Ferguson recently instituted new guidelines in accordance with the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association for his funeral home, including no public visitations, family-only visitations may be allowed, times of services will not be published in newspapers or on the home’s website and the funeral home’s hours may be curtailed, which has forced Ferguson to tell his receptionist and four workers they won’t be needed for the foreseeable future.
“It’s just me and my family working here now,” he said. “It’s a decision I had to make.”
Other funeral homes are following suit.
Jim Stump Jr., supervisor of James C. Stump Funeral Home in Rostraver, said he’s urging visitors to refrain from kissing and hugging and limiting the funeral home to family-only visitors.
“We’re only allowing immediate family,” Stump said. “We’re trying to keep ourselves safe as well as our families. (Coronavirus) frightens me because my parents are over the age of 65. We can’t pretend like it’s not going to come to Westmoreland County.”
Even though Manns Medical Supplies in White Oak may not fall under Wolf’s “essential business” category, don’t tell that to owner Dave Manns, who has chosen to stay open and offer all standard services to his customers, including the sale of glucose strips, lift chairs, catheters, bath rails and oxygen.
“We feel we should remain open because everything we do here is medical related,” he said. “We don’t have large groups of customers coming in. Our customers seem to trickle in throughout the day. We’re sterilizing our hands and keeping our distance from people. Everybody talks about (coronavirus), but they’re still coming in.”
Despite the disruption, Stangroom said better days are ahead.
“It’s here and people are in denial and that’s pretty frustrating,” Stangroom said. “We’ll get through this, but people need to listen to the CDC.”