Front-line doctors at community hospitals across Massachusetts shared their experiences treating coronavirus patients and dealing with the pandemic every day with Herald reporter Alexi Cohan. These firsthand accounts come directly from local doctors:
Dr. Jon Snider, family physician and president of Newton-Wellesley Medical Group, said the hospital realized right away that changes would need to be made due to coronavirus.
“The first thing that we decided that we would try to do is try to keep all the folks who just needed to be tested out of our emergency department so our emergency department can go ahead and take care of emergencies. … It is an extensive procedure that you need to make sure that you are protecting the people who are testing, and the protection that the people who are testing, which is now commonly known as PPE, includes a very specialized mask, eye protection and a gown … and to do that in a way that’s safe for everybody around, we decided that we would build a tent structure on the top of our employee garage, which is also adjacent to our emergency department … when our staff and our doctors and our nurses and our front-line staff were getting symptoms, we needed to make sure that they didn’t have this disease so we can get them back to work, and testing was very sketchy in the beginning and it’s still very difficult for a lot of different reasons. The biggest reason now we’re finding it difficult is that there is a lack of testing material, so the swabs and the media that the testing goes out … I hope for the best. The best thing people can do is No. 1, stay in their house. No. 2, do not come to work sick, please, especially if you work in a hospital setting you can take out a whole department.”
Dr. Jason Tracy, chairman of emergency medicine at South Shore Health:
“While our hospital is keeping up with the number of patients requiring care, we are preparing for the surge on the horizon. Emergency Department visits are down, as people heed the warnings of the medical community and stay clear of the hospital, if possible. A good percentage of patients who are presenting to the Emergency Department have flu-like symptoms. Our staff is preparing for how to safely care for an increased influx of COVID-19 cases and when — not if — the peak of this pandemic will arrive. We know there is significant community spread of COVID-19 and we continue to struggle with the lack of availability of testing, although we’re seeing some improvement. Measures to conserve personal protection equipment (PPE) requires doctors and nurses to modify the way we would normally use these increasingly precious resources. We are training staff on how to reuse or have an extended use of respirators, which is not something we’ve traditionally had to do. We’re very concerned about the volume of patients to come and whether it will match up with the arrival of supplies, a topic that provokes high levels of anxiety among all caregivers.”
Dr. Sowmya Viswanathan, chief medical officer for MetroWest Medical Center and Saint Vincent Hospital:
“Each and every one of our physicians, staff and community members has been impacted by this pandemic. Our emergency room and staff are here 24/7 for medical care, all urgent and emergency care needs, and for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related issues. We have increased precautions which is why we temporarily suspended visitors (with limited exceptions) to the hospital. We encourage continuous connection with patients via virtual visits. The health of our physicians and staff on the front lines is also crucial to our success. We have dedicated staff screening patients who are entering our facility and have taken measures to ensure all physicians and employees are screened. As we navigate the effects of COVID-19, we expect more changes and challenges ahead. We encourage our communities to stay safe at home and heed the direction of public health officials. We are here for our patients, and are ready to serve those who need our help in the coming weeks and months.”
Sharon Rudinski, emergency department RN at UMass Memorial Medical Center:
“I think we are doing all that we possibly can to take care of this influx of patients at our medical center. It is obvious that this virus is real and is impacting the lives of people in our community. And not just the people coming in with COVID-19 — but their families and the caregivers who are doing their best to take care of them. Our emergency department was always overflowing even before COVID-19. In order for us to prepare for an influx of even more patients we added an ED extension in the form of a tent outside of the ED. This will help us isolate those potentially having the virus from others in the ED. I am so proud of the way our team has performed during this crisis. For many this is why we became caregivers and this is the mission before us. I believe we’re up to the task but we will need everyone to do their part. Everyone should be observing social distancing, we should all be washing our hands constantly. We should stay inside and avoid gatherings. This is important and it will save lives.”
