13 Weeks
Take B delivers an earthy country-rock arrangement that underscores the isolation and dedication of frontier medical service.
The stories behind 13 Weeks
- Acoustic Warmth and Prairie Grit on 13 Weeks — Take B delivers an earthy country-rock arrangement that underscores the isolation and dedication of frontier medical service.
- When Rural Access Relies on a Traveling Biomed — A traveling technician steps into a subzero North Dakota critical access hospital to clear the backlog and protect patient care.
Lyrics
13 -week contract, 20 below
outside,
men at North Dakota,
let's see what needs fixing.
Prairie snow blowing sideways across the interstate
living out of a suitcase and eating supper late
hampton in breakfast waffle thermos full of black roast a long way
from the beaches of my carolina coast small critical access
clinic 25 beds and all their only local technician
retired in the fall
Six ventilators throwing alarms
IV pumps on the fritz I walked into that prairie shop
And thought out all the bits
My breath freezes on the glass as I walk to the
door Mud and salt stains tracking on the linoleum floor
They don't have the fancy budgets of the big city towns
Just good hard working people when the weather comes down
Thirteen weeks under a northern prairie sky
Traveling bio -med, keeping healing high
Turning frozen valves with a pair of colicid hands
Saving remote hospitals across the winter lands
Though the miles are long
And I'm sleeping all alone
Making every broken clinic
Feel a bit like home
By week number eight, the head nurse knew my name
Baked me a warm apple pie when the blizzard came
Said, son, we'd have closed our doors if you hadn't come out here
I just tipped my wool stocking cap and hid a little tear
Calibrated every single monitor down in that frozen place
Leaving behind an audit score with zero trace of waste
Tomorrow morning my contract ends
Packing up my gear
Driving to the airport through the north dakota clear they wave
goodbye from the clinic porch standing in the cold a memory
that no amount of money could have sold
13 weeks under a northern prairie sky traveling
biomed keeping healing high
Turning frozen valves with a pair of calloused hands
Saving remote hospitals across the winter lands
Though the miles are long
and I'm sleeping all alone
Making every broken clinic feel
a bit like home
Heading south to Texas next
Take care of this place, y 'all
