As healthcare workers continue to care for the community, including COVID-19 patients, staff from Adventist Health Howard Memorial are sharing their stories on what it’s like being on the front lines and asking the community to do their part to help stop the spread.
Deanna Cruise has been a respiratory therapist at Howard for over five years and loves what she does. Since COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory illness, specially trained therapists like Cruise are on the front lines since they are responsible for providing life-saving breathing treatments and maintaining respiratory treatment tools, such as ventilators, which have never been as treasured than they are now.
She explains why ventilators (or lack thereof) has been such a concern nationwide during this time. “Ventilators deliver oxygen into the lungs and remove carbon dioxide when a patient is unable to breath on their own. A tube is inserted into a patient’s windpipe (trachea) and the ventilator circuit is attached to this tube, called an endotracheal tube. This process is called ‘intubation’. It can either be set to assist a patient’s breathing or totally take over their breathing, depending on the patient’s condition. A ventilator is just one of the many tools we use to treat respiratory illness and not all COVID-19 patients would need a ventilator.”
One of those other tools that has helped patients has been a high-flow oxygen machine, which was donated by the hospital’s volunteers. “Last year, our volunteers gave us these machines and they have been so valuable for helping COVID patients and we have been able to keep some of our patients off the ventilator and saved their lives by using these machines. So even when our volunteers can’t be here with us physically since they are at higher risk for the virus, they are still helping us.”
Cruise shares that ventilators come with a higher risk to patients so having a high-flow machine as part of their arsenal of tools is so important. “It’s not invasive. It’s just a canula that goes in the nose. It provides 100% of the body’s heat and moisture so that your body does not have to provide it. By doing so, you can get really high-flow oxygen.”
She says COVID has changed some of the ways they do their work, including their interaction with the patient. The most challenging part has been having to wear all the PPE, not just for the staff but also for patients.
“It makes it harder to see and breathe. We have to put it on, then take off and put it on again. Things take more time now every time we have to do something.”
The way they relate to patients have changed and have shown how important a healing touch can be. “We’re so used to making connections and touching them. When you see family members who are upset you can’t give them hugs to comfort them. You can’t smile or shake hands. I think it affects people in how connected and how supported they feel. We do the best we can, but there’s little in life that can really replace a comforting hug or the human touch.”
Despite the challenges, Cruise says, there are silver-linings and proud moments, with the teamwork and willingness to step up, especially when their sister hospital in Ukiah needed some help. “They have been getting a lot of COVID patients, and we’ve been able to share supplies, equipment and more. When my team found out how many hours our fellow RTs in Ukiah have been working, I sent out a text to my team. And I could not answer those texts fast enough. Everyone was willing to jump in immediately. Every single one said yes. It’s such a heartwarming moment, with the spirit of coming together as a family. It’s so heartwarming to see. I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of my team.”
While their work has become more complicated and comes with more risk, Cruise says, trust in her team and the processes they have in place are what keeps her going. The time to prepare and learn from other hospitals as the community sheltered in place initially has helped immensely in the hospital’s response. “I think at the beginning, we had some concerns, before we had any COVID patients because we were hearing all the stories from other hospitals. Also back then, we were still learning, and things kept changing. But by the time we had COVID patients, we had enough PPE, we’ve really looked at our processes and trained on how to properly protect ourselves at work and even at home. The leadership has also been very good at keeping us informed so it reassured us and helped a lot.”
She adds that the learning and re-assessing their processes continue. “In the beginning, we had to learn new methods of ventilation, using our machines in different ways and we’re still doing that. We’re trying to be sponges and learn as we go, so we can give patients the best care and save lives.”
As cases are surging nationwide, Cruise reminds the community to continue doing their part and not let down their guard, especially as the holiday approaches. “The community can do their part by wearing a mask. I protect you; you protect me. We should do it for each other.”
"caring" - Google News
November 20, 2020 at 02:36AM
https://ift.tt/390p0SW
Stories from the frontlines: Respiratory Therapist shares experience of caring for COVID-19 patients - The Willits News
"caring" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2z0ngcp
https://ift.tt/3fgQ2Gv
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Stories from the frontlines: Respiratory Therapist shares experience of caring for COVID-19 patients - The Willits News"
Post a Comment