Margaret Padgett started with RPI as a project CTR and has worked on various projects over the years (state report only, accredited program, state central registry). She is someone always willing to take on new adventures and projects that require travel. In May of 2010, Margaret was promoted to Project Manager and has since managed state central registry and state report only projects. She is an excellent abstractor and manager.
Q&A with Margaret:
Q: What kind of travel experiences have you encountered?
A: During my travels with RPI, I have encountered a sleet storm in Alexandria, Louisiana; Superstorm Sandy when I was in Nashua, NH, the Vulcan storm while in Littleton, NH. Most recently when working in Berlin, NH the temp was minus 23 one morning! During the night we had 50 mph winds. I was on the 2nd floor (which was the top floor) and I thought the roof was going to blow off! The McDonald’s in town had a wood burning stove. I have never seen that before. The snow was piled so high at the hotel entrance, I had to creep out with the car to see if anything was coming. The temps never got above freezing the week I was there.
Before the Sandy storm, I had bought a flashlight, water and snack food. During the storm the hotel’s electricity went out. I pulled a chair over by the window so I could read. During the night I got up to see how hard the wind was blowing. I broke my toe on the chair that I left at the window. The next day roads were flooded, power lines were down and debris was all over the place on my way to the hospital to work. During the Vulcan storm, all the eating places closed by 4 p.m. Luckily I had snack food in the room. By noon the next day it had stopped snowing and snow plows had cleared the hotel parking lot and restaurants started opening back up. The roads were still awful but I made it to Pizza Hut for lunch.
I have been on a plane on the runway during a thunderstorm in Alexandria, LA. Before we took off they found a “chunk” out of the propeller and we had to change planes. During August at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, we boarded a plane that had no pilot. We sat on the hot runway for about 2 hrs waiting for the pilot. The flight attendant finally got someone to bring a generator so she could get the air conditioning working. I have been on the tram in the Atlanta airport when it stopped in the tunnel. Two couples pried open the doors and got off. Shortly one couple came running back and tried to close the door. Security had stopped them and made them get back on the tram. We were stopped for about 20 minutes.
On the flight from Manchester, NH to Atlanta GA, I sat next to a woman who got sick. She felt so bad she would not talk. The flight attendant came to check on her and asked “have you been to Africa?” It was during the height of the Ebola outbreak. The lady’s husband assured her they had not been out of the county. I thought “oh no, I am not going to die in a plane crash, I am going to die from a horrible disease”. Then I got tickled and almost laughed out loud. I knew I could not do that since the lady next to me was still really sick. Throughout the flight the attendants were constantly at our seats. The lady did start feeling better just before we landed and was able to walk off the plane with no help.
On my last flight, I met a man from New London, NH. I had been working at the hospital there. He also had lived in Dalton GA, where I live. I normally don’t talk to anyone. I just read. This man was going to talk no matter what I was doing, so I put my book down and listened. His wife had died in November from kidney cancer. He was on his way to Hilton Head to play golf. I found out he was born in Canada. He ended up in the carpet industry and owned a carpet business when in Dalton. When he sold that, he and his wife moved to New London. I learned about his daughter that is a veterinarian in Denver, Colorado. His son owns a restaurant in Boston. He asked if I was working as a nurse. I got to explain about Registry Partners and cancer registrars and what we do. He was very interested in how we collect the data and what we collect. He was on the board for a home health/hospice facility. He was a very interesting person.
I hope my next trip to NH is incident free. I hope the temperatures are above freezing with no snow! I enjoy working remotely but the travel is a nice change.
Q: What do you suggest when someone is setting up their remote office space?
A: You definitely need plenty of electrical outlets. You may want to consider a window in your office or designated area. Looking out the window is a great change from the computer screen.