Nurses talk about working with Covid-19 patients

It's a challenging time for nurses working in hospitals across the area as they treat Covid-19 patients.

Up./// hospitals are busy places these days ?

"* as staffers deal with an ever?

"* growing number of covid?

"*19 cases.

Tonight, we're hearing from two mercyone north iowa nurses about the challenges they face everyday.

Kimt news 3's nick kruszalnicki is live in mason city with their thoughts on managing the pandemic.

Nick?or*s are dealing with covid?

"*19 patients daily in the critical care unit and in the covid unit.

Not only are they dealing with coronavirus, they also have to treat all the other emergencies that come through the doors.

< "we are very, very full.

We're on the fourth covid unit we just opened up and then also the c?

"*c?

"*u.

So techni we have 5 units with covid patients on it."

David asche (ashey) is in charge of three covid units at mercyone north iowa.

Asche says coronavirus patients are in constant need of monitoring.

(lower third: nurses talk about work with covid?

"*19 patients ?

"* kimt 3) "you walk down one of our units, you can hear oxygen beeping and someone going in there to check on that patient."

It's a simliar situation in the critical care unit, where emily orton leads the close?

"*knit staff of nurses.

(lower third: emily orton ?

"* director of nursing, critical care unit) the job is stressful, so orton makes sure her nurses get the relief they need.

"we keep track of when they take care of covid patients so we can give them a break.

So they may take care of covid patients one week and try to give them a break the next and they would have non?

"*covid patients."

The outpouring of support from the community gives these exhausted workers something to smile about amidst a very tense environment.

"they've written cards to us.

Those are really helpful.

We hang them in the breakroom, so the nurses can read them."

What they want most ?

"* is for everyone to heed the warnings and take the virus seriously.

"there's a sense of urgency and even nervousness around the hospital here because we know.

We're obviously very busy right now surging, but usually 1 or 2 just to give you an idea of how exhausting the job can be ?

"* each time they check on a covid patient, it takes about a minute to put on all the required p?

"*p?

"*e.

As you ca imagine ?

"* that's a lot of tie and energy spent each day.

Live in mason city, nick kruszalnicki, kimt news 3.

Thanks nick.

Right now the hospital is on its third phase of the surge plan.

Mercyone evaluating those plans in case more room for covid patients is