'You're Coming To Work Crying': COVID-19 Surge Taking A Toll On Nurses
BOSTON (CBS) - With the surge of COVID-19 patients in Massachusetts now, the impact on front line healthcare workers is taking a toll.
"You're coming to work crying, you're leaving work crying. It's just terrible, and it's every minute," said Trish Powers, a nurse who spoke with WBZ during a break in her emergency room shift at Brigham and Women's Hospital Wednesday. "It's just not normal to see people like that dying every day…and it's not normal to see the whole unit, like every bed in the ICU, the people are extremely sick, fighting for their lives."
"It's really just really sad that they're alone and their family can't see them," said Michael Robinson who works in a COVID-19-only section of Brigham's emergency room. "Patients we have are sicker..they're having more respiratory stress, requiring more oxygen, so they end up needing to go to the ICU," he said.
Nurses say there are bright moments that get them through the toughest times. "Shout out to all those little kids that you've got at home! Keep the drawings coming, because they're super cute and we hang them up here at the hospital, and we love them," said Powers.
"It's just really been incredible, the amount of support were getting from the public," said Robinson.
They also wanted to put out a plea for a specific item they're running low on at the hospital. "If anyone can help with disinfectant wipes," said Powers. "I know people want them for their homes and things, but if you have like 20 packs in your cellar, you're probably not going to need them like we need them!"
