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April 9, 2020
Caring for Patients During a Pandemic
By Pamela Hallquist Viale, RN, MS, CNS, ANP
We are living and practicing during a very strange time in history, a time we’ve not experienced in our lifetimes. Although these statistics change daily, as of April 10, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected 470,175 people in the United States, and there have been a reported 16,772 deaths.
Worldwide, the infection has affected 1,624,047 people, with a reported 97,298 deaths. These numbers change rapidly and the trajectory has worsened with each day. Many states have called for “shelter in place” mandates, while others remain without specific recommendations. We’ve been asked to practice social distancing when in the company of others. I am in California, the first state to issue a mandated “shelter in place” directive. I’ve been home for the past 4 weeks, and watching the televised news updates on the virus with a great deal of anxiety. This is a very sobering time.
Helping When Possible
I am retired from patient care and have an ill family member to care for. I know that I would not be helpful on the front lines caring for patients with this virus. I have friends who have both recently and not so recently retired and have been asked to consider reinstating their licenses and come back to work to care for the anticipated large numbers of sick COVID-19 patients.
I’ve been trying to do my part by informing my elderly neighbors of the risk, and shopping for them if necessary. But active care is not something I can personally do right now, and I empathize with those retired caregivers who
struggle with a choice to return to care or not. It’s a choice that’s made more difficult by the recent reports of diminished supplies of personal protective equipment for health-care providers who must be protected while caring
for patients ill with COVID-19. If our front-line health-care personnel become ill with the virus, we lose more than a provider. We greatly reduce our ability to fight and conquer this virus. Physicians, advanced practitioners,
nurses, respiratory therapists, and all other care personnel are critical to our ability to gain traction over this extremely contagious virus.
Emergence of Telehealth
In my city, the use of telehealth has been introduced to help support patient access to care while reducing face-to-face contact with potentially contagious individuals. Telehealth can provide a means for patients to connect
with a health-care provider and report symptoms, while allowing providers to determine who actually needs to come to the emergency room for further evaluation. This can help to reduce the possibility of further contagion
with infectious individuals.
The telehealth approach is being promoted as an option for other departments as well, including primary care, rheumatology, and oncology. Reducing the possible spread of COVID-19 to additional patients, who may be immune-compromised or have additional comorbidities, making them susceptible to increased complications, is essential to our patient care.
I’m sure many of you working in hospital and clinic settings are seeing your own facilities strategize the best way to care for increased patient numbers, while reducing infectious contact with COVID-19 patients. I’m also
sure that you are all working in extremely challenging situations. I hope that you all have access to the personal protective equipment you need to adequately care for your patients and protect yourselves.
Staying Informed
Advanced practitioners working in oncology may be asked to provide care to COVID-19 patients. It is imperative that providers care for patients with proper equipment, in safe environments, and with consideration of appropriate training and expertise to care for virus patients. Stay informed regarding the latest information on the virus and care recommendations. The
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is a good overall reference for guidance. APSHO has a
resource page on COVID-19 as well.
I am hopeful that this pandemic will eventually end, as all pandemics eventually do. However, I also hope that the providers on the front lines have access to what they need to provide that care. Stay safe and support each other. And take a deep breath. It’s not over yet.
Read more from the APSHO Advance: Special COVID-19 Series
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