This browser does not support the Video element.
Front line health care workers face high volumes of patients
An Atlanta ICU nurse shares how she is working every day to combat the coronavirus.
ATLANTA - “I’ve never seen a volume like this.” Those are the words of an Atlanta ICU nurse working long shifts to treat COVID-19 patients.
Though the days are hard, she says there’s nowhere else she’d rather be.
Sarah B shared her story with FOX 5.
“We’re doing medicine that I never anticipated doing in 2020, but we’re going to make it work. We’re going to get our communities there,” Sarah said.
Sign up for FOX 5 email alerts
Her day starts at 6:45 in the morning. She jumps into action as soon as she walks through the doors.
An intensive care unit nurse, Sarah asked us not to use her last name for privacy concerns. She graduated from nursing school three years ago.
“I never anticipated when I graduated a couple years ago that I would be in the heart of a pandemic,” Sarah said. “But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
The hospital where she works like every other hospital in the country has shifted the way they do everything. Nurses change in and out of gowns, gloves, N-95 masks and surgical masks after visiting each patient.
Download the FOX 5 Atlanta app for breaking news and weather alerts
This can delay getting into the next patient’s room by three to five minutes.
“We no longer allow visitors, so watching these patients for weeks at a time not have a loved one at their bedside has been the most surreal experience. I feel like we’re living like a twilight zone episode,” Sarah said.
“Their cell phones will still ring. You know people want to know where they are and talk to them. That’s weird. It’s just weird.”
SEE ALSO: Kemp extending Georgia's shelter-in-place order until April 30
Though the losses are hard, Sarah says the successful recoveries are encouraging. And the community support is especially helpful in the effort just to stay strong.
“Every meal that we get at work is one less meal that I then have to go to the grocery store for,” Sarah said. “Just knowing that they’re there to support us, cheering us on, clapping from the distance or the sidelines, that does make the days a little bit less hard.”
App users click here for live updates
This browser does not support the Video element.
Know how the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting Georiga
Best prevention measures:
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least twenty seconds.
- If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
RESOURCES:
- Symptoms, testing and how to prepare amid growing COVID-19 outbreak
- Who is most susceptible to coronavirus? COVID-19 not just affecting older people
- Coronavirus cleaners: These products will kill COVID-19, according to the EPA
- Coronavirus and pets: Your cat or dog probably can’t get COVID-19, WHO says
- Will sick leave protect me if I get ill from coronavirus? 5 questions answered
RELATED: CoronavirusNOW.com, FOX launches national hub for COVID-19 news and updates.
Live map: Tracking coronavirus in Georgia
-----