Frontline workers share stories of resilience
Published:Friday | July 9, 2021 | 12:08 AM
Pulmonologist Dr Kimberly Johnson vividly recalls the male patient who clung to her like a baby as he made the transition from life to death during treatment on the COVID-19 ward at the National Chest Hospital in Kingston.
She remembers the trauma of a COVID-19 patient grabbing and pleading with her not to leave him alone. As Johnson held him amid screams and shock from others on the ward, she held him firmly as he squeezed her in despair.
Johnson stayed away from work the next day as she tried to process the loss of yet another patient.
A portion of her medical career had been spent at the Kingston Public Hospital, the country’s primary trauma centre, and she had witnessed deaths before. But it was different seeing it unfold on a COVID-19 ward.
Frontline workers like Johnson have been at the vanguard of tackling COVID-19 – whether as police personnel manning curfews, soldiers overseeing vaccination drives, or sanitation staff conducting deep cleaning in infection zones.
That sacrifice has won frontliners the RJRGLEANER Platinum Award – a signal honour of the RJRGLEANER Communications Group for their heroism during once-in-a-lifetime adversity.
Franklyn Hibbert, 52, a team leader at Manpower & Maintenance Services, was always first to enter buildings to clear the threat of the deadly coronavirus.
Suiting up with protective gear, he offered words of reassurance to his colleagues as they battled an unseen enemy.
Hibbert himself eventually contracted COVID-19, although he was non-symptomatic.
“I feel proud to know that someone recognised the work that I do. I really appreciate it,” the father of two daughters said of the RG Platinum Award.
AN EMOTIONAL TOLL
Doctors like Kimberly Johnson are schooled not to get emotionally attached to their patients, but the absence of family and the general isolation have forced COVID-19 patients to rely on medical caregivers for comfort.
“You are their best friend, you are their aunt, their uncle, they rely on you, they rest on you, they squeeze you, they hug you, because you are all they have; and you have to take that on and dig deep and not get emotional around them,” said Johnson, a household name among the local Twitter community.
The National Chest Hospital physician is used to the physical fatigue that comes with her job, but holding her patients and watching them die, with no family around, has required mental stamina and oftentimes take a toll.
Many healthcare workers are going home alone and have stayed away from relatives for fear of exposing them to the highly contagious respiratory disease. The emotional burden is overbearing, said Johnson, who often vents on the phone to her mother after a long day of work or meditates to recoup.
Senior Medical Officer Dr Terry Baker has been there for the tears and the frustration when her medical team gets overwhelmed. She has shed a few herself when she considers the battlefield that confronts her team daily as they try to save another person from succumbing to the deadly virus, which claimed the lives of 1,108 people in Jamaica up to Friday, July 8. Overall infections have hit 50,497.
“I will confess, there have been days that I am at home getting ready to come out and the tears are streaming down my face, and I have had to lean closer to God. I’ve had to lean on my faith and lean closer on God,” she said.
Baker has been the SMO at the facility since 2011.
In this capacity, she serves as a medical doctor, administrator, and team leader. She marvelled when she considered how much her team has sacrificed and has grown since COVID-19 was first recorded in Jamaica in March 2020.
As daily admittance at the hospital increased, auxiliary workers, security officers, and medical, paramedical, and administrative staff all had to pitch in to carry the load.
After losing their patients, doctors have to sober up and deliver the sad news to relatives. Given the increased stress, the staff are constantly offered psychological support.
Nurse Tasia-Malyka Walters recalled how chaotic things were during the first few weeks of the pandemic, and the fear that gripped them while they donned protective gear to deal with the first set of COVID-19 patients. It was during those times that health workers learnt to smile more with their eyes and offer reassurance with their voices as the hazmat suits created a barrier between them and those they cared for.
“People say don’t get emotionally attached when it comes to our job, but it is very hard not to,” said the nurse as she recalled a patient who died in his sleep, the day he finally cooperated with her request to try and get some sleep.
INFLUX OF CASES
Prior to COVID-19, the hospital had 100 beds and treated primarily persons with infectious diseases, but bed capacity increased by 40 gradually as the COVID-19 crisis swirled. About 80 per cent of the patients the hospital now receives are due to COVID-19-related complications.
The hospital’s chief executive officer, Jacqueline Ellis, said that she became the hospital’s “calmer-in-chief” as the team waded through the unknown during the initial phase of the pandemic.
“I think one of the strong points for National Chest is the fact that we are accustomed to managing patients with tuberculosis, which is highly contagious, and as such, we would dress a particular way to treat those patients,” she said.
The challenge of sourcing oxygen when hospitalisations soared during a spike in COVID-19 cases earlier this year was a dark moment. Ellis, who is also the CEO of the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre and the Hope Institute, networked until she was able to borrow cylinders to store oxygen for use.
Head of physiotherapy at the hospital, Natasha Lazarus, said her team has also taken on the job of being respiratory therapists, who assist patients to improve their oxygenation whenever levels fall. They also assist in draining the mucus so that patients can breathe better. Their main function is, however, to help patients improve mobility, as they are oftentimes in need of rehabilitation after long stays.
OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH
Some patients develop pneumonia, cardiopulmonary issues, and fatigue, which make it difficult to move around.
“It has been a challenging year, but I think despite the challenges, it has also provided an opportunity for growth, because things that you probably never thought that you were capable of, you realise that the situation is forced on you and so you have to respond,” Lazarus said.
Everyone essentially saw their workload increase during the pandemic. Male attendant Rayon Savage was a gardener at the hospital prior to March 2020, but he had to assume new responsibilities as more persons got admitted.
Teamwork, he said, helped to lighten his burden as he tackled the task at hand daily.
“You can’t make this thing come and break you down when you should be here for the patients,” he said.