Initially when the pandemic started, I wore the same clothes daily to nursing homes and house calls. Upon coming home, I’d toss them into the washer, and they’d be dried by the morning. It took a toll, especially on my pants and shirts, as I started to look scruffy.

Coming to rescue me about a month into the pandemic were two Good Samaritans, Dr. Peter Kim and his wife Esther, who provided me with well-needed, durable “scrubs.” With the weather getting warmer, the lightweight scrubs were more comfortable in our semi-desert environment.

I still wear a shower cap, gloves and mask, and even now I have a shield available on nursing home visits. Plus, when I leave these facilities, I make sure I get “sprayed off” with disinfectant before going out into public.

Just to be sure I don’t contaminate house-call patients, I go to nursing homes on separate days.

Now that I wear scrubs and look like a healthcare professional in public, I get “thumbs up” and “thank you” all the time. Occasionally, someone will point at their skin and ask me how to treat their rash!

It’s good to not look scruffy anymore, thanks to kindhearted friends.

Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D., is a geriatric house-call physician who serves as president of the Los Angeles County Commission for Older Adults and Assemblyman to the California Senior Legislature. He has practiced in the Santa Clarita Valley for 32 years.