Training Day Seven: 8/24 (Insert Witty Name Here)

Ok so I think I’ve learned a bit about blog writing since my last post, so hopefully this will be more readable. Tuesday was a very important day for us because we had both CPR training and a food safety presentation. Because we are going to be serving food, understanding sanitary practices and being able to teach them to the crew is very important. I am also a public health major, so being the nerd that I am found this very interesting. But first we had CPR. I walked into the Zone and there were 5 torsos chilling on the ground, which was kind of creepy, but necessary for training. Our instructor was Mark, a member of the Rutgers Emergency Services corps. We watched the instructional video, and everyone thought it was kind of funny when the actors would yell “THE SCENE IS SAFE” and “YOU! CALL 911 AND GET AN AED!” when no one was standing there, and even we felt kinda silly when practicing. But when it was time to take the test, it hit me that one day I might have to do this for someone, and made sure I had all the steps down.

We then ate lunch and had some individual work time, but then it was time for food safety (excellent). This summer I had an internship with the Middlesex County Health Department, and had been mentioning tidbits to the others during training. Now it was time to prove that I was not crazy, and that things such as washing your hands for 20 seconds, changing your gloves frequently when touching ready to eat foods, and preventing the presence of drain flies are actually important for providing sanitary service to our customers. John Nason, Rutgers University Sanitarian (cool title, eh?), came and discussed with us some concerns that would specifically apply to the Zone, but also would apply to any other establishment. For instance, hand washing is super important, and should be done before beginning work, after sneezing or coughing, and after basically doing anything that would contaminate your hands. Also, gloves are not a substitute for proper hand washing!! You should always wash your hands before preparing food, and wash them for at least 20 seconds under hot water with soap. This will ensure that more bacteria is removed from your hands, and make for a more sanitary experience.

Following that, we met with Neela and Kathryn and went over policies and responsibilities at the Livingston Student Center. This was important to acquaint everyone with rooms and other student roles in the facility so we can all work together.
Overall, we learned a lot today about how to make your experience in the RutgersZone a safe one.

Ali