ICU nurse Kyle Day tends to a 25-year-old patient inside the COVID-19 ward of Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital. This woman is one of two patients under Day’s care during this shift. The current ratio for nurses in the Grove City COVID ICU is 2:1 but there have been times during the pandemic when that patient to nurse ratio has reached 3:1.
As COVID-19 cases and deaths around Ohio continue to rise, staff on the COVID ICU floor of Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital work tirelessly to save the lives of their patients. It is here in this ward where the sickest of patients are treated. About half of the patients on this floor are intubated and sedated. Some patients will recover and eventually go home. Some of them are touch-and-go. Sadly, many people who end up here will die.
This reality, of life and death, is not new to any ICU. But the ways in which this virus has taken hold of the world, has changed not only how hospitals must operate, it has left a lasting impression on the medical personnel who work here. On the surface of their skin, indentations are made from masks and a constant sheen from sweat and oil lingers on their faces.
What can be likened to the look of a thousand-yard stare glosses over their eyes by midday, but there is never a moment when their attention wanders. Time must be taken to don protective gear before entering any room, regardless if the patient is stable or coding. Gear must be removed and discarded or sanitized before and after exiting each room.
The deeper impressions go home with the staff. Throughout the day, difficult calls must be made to families explaining the options they have left. A nurse may end their shift one day having gotten to know a patient only to return for their next shift and discover their patient crashed in the middle of the night.
Hours are spent discussing oxygen levels, looking over EKG printouts, and simply watching patients to measure progress. This is not new to staff but the rate at which it is occurring is shocking. Despite this, there is still a constant uplifting chatter, smiles and laughs are exchanged between nurses and technicians as they do what anyone would do: discuss Netflix shows, joke about the quickly dwindling box of HoHos in the break room or groan with disappointment to find out their favorite person to work with is being moved elsewhere. Some nurses are embedded from other hospitals, even other states, but they seemingly fit right in with the team. The process repeats for 12 hours until a new shift rotates in, day in and day out.
The staggering rate of cases translate simply — there is an ever increasing amount of this exhausting work to be done. Medical staff in the ICU are trained for this, most are hardened, but they are human. The work has and will continue to take its toll, physically and emotionally. To them, it’s just another day. They’re used to it. To some of the public, it’s hard to fathom that daily burden.
“There are some nights where I feel like I just don’t want to go back,” ICU nurse Kyle Day said. “But I have to. I have to for my patients.”
ICU nurses start their 12-hour shift with a huddle and are given updates before rotating with the nurses inside Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital’s COVID-19 ward.
Respiratory therapist Brenda Clingerman puts on personal protective equipment before entering a patients room during her shift inside Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital’s COVID-19 ward. Medical staff must take time to don protective equipment before entering any room regardless if a patient is stable, or coding and in need of immediate medial attention when time is precious.
A 25-year-old patient with an underlying health condition receives treatment for the COVID-19 virus inside the ICU.
A patient’s room is reflected in glass along the hallway of the ward.
ICU nurse Rachael Vogel, center, awaits word from first-year resident Dr. Christopher Wing while Wing looks over results with the respiratory therapist.
Indentations are left on ICU nurse Kyle Day’s face after removing his medical mask. After just a few hours, the glean of oil and sweat is visible on staff members and the drain of working over 60 hours prior week lingers on Day’s face.
ICU nurse Kyle Day sanitizes a face shield after leaving a patient’s room. Precautions taken inside COVID wards are likely some of the most stringent taken around the country but the risk of the virus remains high for staff.
A patient is transported with protective covering from the restricted wing of the ICU. Many aspects of providing medical care, such as moving patients around the hospital, must be reevaluated to assure other patients, staff and the general public are kept safe.
ICU nurse Lindsay Harrison rests her hand on her head as she talks her co-workers at the end of her 12-hour shift inside Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital’s COVID-19 ward.
A medical staff themed Christmas tree sits in the lobby of the hospital. Hospital workers try their best to keep holiday cheer in the air despite the quickly rising number of COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths around the state.
First-year resident Dr. Christopher Wing observes his patient through a glass door that separates each highly contagious patient from unprotected staff.
Stethoscopes hang on the wall of the staff break room as the sun sets outside of Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital.