Update on the Pandemic: From a Healthcare Professional

Here’s an update on the pandemic from the perspective of a healthcare professional.

Before I start, I want to say thank you to my readers. Being a writer is a difficult road, and I’m so grateful to those who take the time to check in on my posts. I also greatly appreciate those who share on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. It makes a huge difference.

When COVID-19 first became a thing, my hospital struggled to know what to do. We lacked information on how long coronavirus lived on surfaces or the manner of aerosolization of the virus during intubation. (This is relevant to me because I work in the operating room).

The PPE demand increased exponentially and the resources available needed to catch up. I cannot speak for everywhere in the country, but as I said in my prior post the hospitals needed the lockdown. Frontliners put themselves at risk, and in order to provide the best care, our country needed to control the influx of COVID positive patients.

Update on the Pandemic

But, the healthcare world functions differently now. First as part of the update on the pandemic, we test every surgical patient, and the stress relief that that provides is indescribable. You have no idea of the anxiety one feels when walking into a patient encounter only to be unsure if you just put yourself or your loved one at risk. We don’t wear full PPE unless we know the patient is positive (we can’t afford to waste it). Knowing is everything.

Second, policies and procedures exist to help maintain the volume of necessary PPE to take care of patients safely. My friend works as an ICU nurse, and she uses up to 10 gowns in a four hour period. Think of every nurse working 12 hours in every ICU across the country. Part of the freedom of this country involves the right of healthcare workers to be safe when taking care of patients.

Reopen

That being said, I agree with opening states up slowly. I’m not trying to step on anyone’s toes or rights. However, my NUMBER ONE goal in this whole circus is to have a bed, ventilator, and the best care available for every COVID positive person.

I get my panties in a bunch when I hear people complain. The truth is that when people act unsafely, landscapers, factory workers, government contractors, etc. are not affected. Instead, a lack of safety brings an increased number of sick people to our hospitals and overburdens the very front line people we acknowledge in meme after meme.

So open up the states in a slow fashion seeing how it will impact our emergency rooms and hospitals. If it’s under control, then keep opening doors.

What about herd immunity? As far as I’m aware, this is our current plan to get out from underneath coronavirus. Herd immunity means that approximately 230 million Americans need to be exposed to coronavirus (be COVID positive) in order for us to shut it down. 230 million Americans. Even if our exposure is ten times what the numbers show, we still have a long way to go.

I want businesses and lives to return to normal! I really do! But, please remember that if you want your grandmother, your father, your brother, your cousin, or your best friend to be able to have a hospital bed, a ventilator, and the best hospital care that they can receive, we have to do this in a way that allows healthcare workers to function at the highest level.

Thanks for listening.

Love, K.

Author of Ten Iron Principles, Contributor in The Power to Make a Difference