Nursing on the frontline of a pandemic

An outbreak of COVID-19 was declared at the Victoria Hospital on May 1 after a patient who was there for a duration of time tested positive. The patient did not know they had it and all staff who may have been in contact with the patient went into self-isolation. On May 8, the Saskatchewan Health Authority declared the outbreak over after no additional cases were found.

Stemming an outbreak

“I think it just shows you how well they work together, how the PPE that they required was available to them and the plans that were put in place by the health authority when it came to getting people to fill in shifts because there was a large amount of people that had to go off,” Zambory said.

She explained nurses from across the province and other health care workers stepped up to fill the empty shifts.

“When P.A. called for help a lot of people from across the province came,” she said. “Whether you’re in Prince Albert, Estevan, Lloydminster or North Battleford, registered nurses answer the call; we’re there for our patients when they need us.”

She said the staff working at the hospital were anxious, just as most health care workers are during the pandemic, but handled the situation with professionalism and grace.

With the Victoria Hospital outbreak declared over and the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan underway, Zambory said it is important to stay the course. She added to keep following the rules and precautions put in place.

“All of these rules still need to be in place because we’re flattening the curve but if we let up our foot off the gas on that then that curve could start to come up again and we’ll find ourselves back to where we are today,” she said.

Local nurse recalls outbreak

Tammy Gillis, nursing unit manager at the Victoria Hospital Emergency Department told paNOW when the outbreak was declared at the hospital earlier this month there was an increased level of concern.

“Just being that designated outbreak kind of made you realize that you know this is extremely real; it’s not something that’s happening in New York or Montreal or in Italy, it’s happening here right in front of us,” Gillis said.

She said there was some anxiety amongst herself and her colleagues and how they were going to handle the situation at hand.

“What does this mean now for the near future and for the next couple of months and it was I think a little bit more startling than we thought it was going to be,” she explained.

Gillis explained if we talked to any nurse throughout the building about what it is like to work during a pandemic, they would agree it is a challenge. She said they want to meet the needs of their patients while also protecting themselves.

“While you do that you think to yourself ‘did I do that right? Did I take my gloves off properly?’” she said. “It’s definitely a heightened level of awareness. I think of what the ramifications can be for not protecting ourselves and not having the necessary precautions in place.”

A rebound in more regular work

She said they have been busier lately since the beginning of the provincial pandemic back in March. She said they saw a drop in ER patient numbers, but they are starting to rebound.

“Which is kind of reassuring, I think there was a lot of concern for the public as to where they can access care, how they should access care,” she said.

She added people have realized it is still safe to come to the emergency department if you need the urgent care.

“I’ve said this for the majority of my career, is that nursing for us it isn’t what we do, it’s who we are. We are usually the first ones to jump in, the first ones to help. We all love to help, and we care, we truly do care about your interactions with us,” Gillis said.

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Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @iangustafson12

by Ian Gustafson

Nursing on the frontline of a pandemic

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