As COVID-19 continues its deadly spread across the country, health-care workers on the front lines of the pandemic are having to adapt their behaviour in a variety of ways, both in hospital and at home.
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As COVID-19 continues its deadly spread across the country, health-care workers on the front lines of the pandemic are having to adapt their behaviour in a variety of ways, both in hospital and at home.
The highly contagious virus that surrounds them on a daily basis informs nearly every decision and every action. The overriding goal is to help patients who are suffering, while also protecting themselves and others, including their loved ones, from catching COVID-19.
Whether it’s how they interact with critically ill patients, including how often; how they eat their meals while on duty; and what they do before they even walk in the door at home after a shift — nearly every routine has changed.
At the system level, Canada is adapting to the crisis by expanding hospital capacity, training staff for new roles and inviting retired health-care workers to return to duty.
Down at individual level, Patty Tamlin of Stouffville, Ont., knows what’s at stake. She works as an intensive care nurse in the Scarborough Health Network’s Birchmount site in Toronto’s east end. Tamlin, 59, was infected with SARS on the job in 2003.
She won’t shy away from caring for patients so long as she’s adequately protected with the proper gear, she said.
The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been a persistent concern of hers as the outbreak continues.
She’s not only concerned about her own safety, but that of her husband, who is recovering from cancer.
“For me, with having somebody who’s immunocompromised at home from chemotherapy, I’m obsessive,” Tamlin said of the precautions she takes to avoid infection.
Tamlin’s not alone in constantly taking extra care. Hospital workers are meticulous about physical distancing at work, including at lunch.
Everyone working in the hospital wears surgical masks. They’re given two per day. At lunch, staff remove their mask to eat, either in the regular staff room, in a conference room or in the lobby to keep away from each other.
“I missed my dinner break [Wednesday] and that will happen more,” Tamlin said. “I am more dehydrated, as I can’t step away to get a drink of water as easily.”
Tamlin said everyone tries to stay cheerful and support each other.
When she arrives home after a shift, she leaves her shoes outside, takes off her clothes immediately once inside to put them directly in the wash, and then hits the shower.
“I wash my hair, everything. I even wash my hair tie, even though … my head is covered all day.”
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