By Michael Wemyss
The Coronavirus has certainly caused cruel and unusual times for us as we sit and wait for the world to return to normal. With healthcare workers all over the globe fighting against this virus on the front lines, they are revered as warriors to those who treat the COVID patients. We always hear how great and remarkable these people are, but what do the nurses themselves have to say about all this? After all, they are the ones who are coming into contact the most with these patients.
Nurses are working more than ever as well as being the only people that these patients will see for weeks once admitted into hospitals with this condition. Nurses and doctors have to go through several procedures before treating patients. Now, every hospital and healthcare place is different, depending on how serious the outbreak is in a specific region.
Stephanie Wemyss, a nurse in Richmond, who works at a VCU progressive care unit, has four steps she has to go through every time she has to meet with a patient while being monitored. Before entering the room, nurses and doctors have to put on their gowns first, masks, goggles, and gloves on last.
Next, you gather all the equipment you need before even coming into contact with the patient. And once you are in the room, you stay in the room.
When you are done treating the patient, the nurse or doctor will be monitored through a glass to make sure they rip off their gown first, throw away the gloves, and apply hand sanitizer for 20 seconds.
As you leave the room, the monitor will take off the goggles for the healthcare worker. After applying more hand sanitizer, you leave the room and take off your mask from behind the ears. Touching the front of the mask is prohibited. After that, it’s more hand sanitizer, and more washing hands.
At the end of the day, when healthcare workers can go home, they have access to scrub “vending machines” where they will have the ability to change into clean clothes before coming home and having contact with their family members. Many healthcare workers are still worried about contaminating their family and homes and will go straight from work and take showers to ensure they’re germ-free.
For some time, ventilators were in high demand and short supply. Now, necessary equipment such as those and others are now stocked up in large quantities. Another good sign is that the amount of hospital emissions have gone down since the start of the outbreak where less nurses are required, since the number of patients is decreasing.
With all the hard work that has been done with these healthcare professionals, they have been honored as if they were soldiers coming back from war. Many companies have chipped in and supplied medical centers across the country with ventilators and PPE’s. Others applaud those right before heading into a long shift, some even writing inspiring messages on walls where nurses and doctors can see them.
Most importantly, Wemyss leaves us with this very important message, “Stay home! The more people stay at home the shorter the time it will take to get back to normal. I know a lot of states are reopening, but even that, if you feel uncomfortable, and you are at high risk or if you live with someone who is at high risk, you still don’t have to go just because you are allowed to.”
Help your community by staying at home and practicing good hygiene. We are all in this together even though we are all physically separated.