godhugh wrote:Hyena wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 10:34 pm
godhugh wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:21 pm
I'm a nurse, so yeah, I've known quite a few people who have had it, including a few of my co-workers. I've been lucky enough to not catch it yet and, honestly, I'm more worried about being exposed now that the kids are going back to school in a few weeks. We have had plenty of PPE at work and I don't work in the COVID unit so I don't feel like I've been in a terribly high-risk area.
I hope you don't mind me asking, but what have you seen on the Frontlines? Are things as bad as I'm guessing, or are all those videos of docs saying, "This is all a conspiracy! Its no worse than the flu!" the real thing?
My wife's aunt has it and most likely won't recover so I have my own impressions, but as a soldier up front, what are you seeing?
If it's too personal or against regs I understand.
Yeah, it's as bad as you're probably guessing. I see a bit different perspective of the pandemic than a lot of nurses, because I work in the NICU. We've had mom's who haven't been able to hold their babies for weeks because they were sick with COVID, father's who haven't been able to come in when their baby is having surgery because they have it. Grandparents will go months and months without ever seeing their grandkids because we can't allow extended family to visit. Even if they're healthy, parents can only visit one at a time so they struggle to support each other during the incredibly stressful experience that is an extended stay in the NICU. Everyone is just on edge, even more so than they usually are.
The COVID units in our hospital are running pretty short-staffed, especially the last month or so (I live in Dallas so it's gotten much worse over the last little while). Pediatric nurses are having to work on the COVID floors, completely outside of their comfort zones or areas of expertise, just so that every patient can have a nurse.
It's been rough, not going to lie. And with no end in sight to the pandemic, flu season approaching, and all the schools starting to reopen (my kids went back yesterday), I don't see it getting better any time soon.
I'm a nurse manager in East Tennessee. March, April, and May our numbers were around 4 to 5 patients daily with 9 being the highest single day total.
Since late June and July, I would guess our numbers are averaging about 25 patients with a daily record of 52.
Our administration is still bracing for a surge they are predicting for the first week of September. When flu season rolls around, things have the potential to be very ugly. I can see us becoming nearly maxed out with patients in the hallways and some being turned away.
I've had to work shifts on the floor to cover nurse shortages. I can tell you our dedicated Covid floors have nurses nearly at breaking points having to deal with this day in and day out with no end in sight. The burnout is real and I'm concerned about staffs mental health. We are losing nurses daily because they can't take it any longer. I think this is one of my biggest concerns that the public truly has zero understanding on the toll it's taking on healthcare staff.
It also sickens me to my stomach the attitude that since most deaths are 65+, for some reason it's not that big a deal. Tell that to the families and loved ones losing a husband, uncle, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, etc when they otherwise had a decade or longer to live. AND, these people are dying with only their nurses and other healthcare staff at the beside. Imagine that emotional toll.