Nursing check-in: How are your numbers???

Yaya Sennessie · Jul 9, 2020

On 7/8/2020 at 6:46 AM, Nurse SMS said:
DFW , widespread community transmission and hospitalizations increasing daily. Not overrun per se, as we have plenty of beds, but healthcare workers are falling ill and staffing is growing and growing as an issue. We are on our fourth Covid unit at this point in time, over 150 in house.

I live in Dallas too. I got a call from Parkland for an interveiw for the new (4th)covid unit. I’m currently doing QA for a home health agency and would love get back to working in the hospital(especially since I wasn’t to start my NP program next August) but I have an 8month old and worried about him. What precautions have you guys working with Covid patients taken, you think hospitals are doing enough to protect?

allnurses Guide · Jul 10, 2020

The National Guard has been called in to help staff.

noemer · Jul 12, 2020

I was traveling. Contract in Kansas was cancelled in end of March d/t low census. Went home to South Dakota and am on unemployment. Finally got a new contract this week :).

As for the numbers in SD, from what I hear from old co-workers and see from from observation. Small amount of cases. SD never had any sort of Mandatory lockdown either. When I got home in April it was business as usual in the states largest town. If you watch the news, you see a very different picture than what I have observed.

ladycody, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2020

On 7/9/2020 at 11:18 AM, Yaya Sennessie said:
What precautions have you guys working with Covid patients taken, you think hospitals are doing enough to protect?

I think that really depends on the hospital. Mine still has us reusing N95 masks despite a relatively low caseload....so no...not good enough...but better than nothing I suppose. I know they are worried about a resurgence...and I get it...but still crazy. At least it's been announced as airborne...so they can't play with the idea of what PPE is reasonable. They also put out recycle bins for N95 sanitizing but as far as I'm concerned, our masks are structurally unsound by the time we toss them...so mine go in the trash when I get concerned about seal.

I sanitize my hands a LOT. On days that I've been working with covid patients I strip and shower as soon as I get home...and my shoes haven't left the car in 3 months. I have them in a large cardboard shoe box in my car and I put them on and take them off in the parking lot. I have a pump sanitizer in the door of my car and wipes in the center console for use.

Some hospitals have provided scrubs so you don't go home in them at all. You could ask what they provide.

For donning and doffing...personally:

I store my mask in a cardboard burger box (labeled so I remember which side is up) and put the outside of the mask facing down to keep the clean side as protected as possible. The sides of the box never touch each other the way a bag will...and it just makes me feel better. (I do out the box in a bag to hang).

I sanitize after putting my mask on and before touching anything else because the dang thing is nowhere near safe to handle. I double glove when donning and then ..when leaving the room, take off the top set of gloves, sanitize the gloves underneath, untie and remove my gown, sanitize with gloves on again to open the door, and then pop my bottom gloves into the trash as I'm leaving the room...pulling the door shut with the outside door handle and then yep...sanitize again. If not entering another covid room, I stand by the sanitizer to remove and store my mask and shield so that I can avoid contaminating the outside of the box/bag they're being placed in. Last step: hand wash.

I don't work with Covid all day every day...and we were never over capacity...but it was every day for awhile and we were pushing the envelope on capacity. I still worry that I could carry it to someone else. Here's hoping we don't see our numbers tick up again where I am. It's not good for mental health.

Chief NP, MSN, RN, APN, APRN, NP · Jul 13, 2020

We are full to capacity here in Houston. It's hard to even get an open bed 50mile radius on league city at this time. It's bad.

ladycody, BSN, RN · Jul 13, 2020

5 hours ago, babatee said:
We are full to capacity here in Houston. It's hard to even get an open bed 50mile radius on league city at this time. It's bad.

Am sorry...I feel for all of you. I hope you were able to get some travelers. ?

allnurses Guide · Jul 13, 2020

We are so short of staff it is frightening. Nobody wants to be out in the testing centers in full PPE when its 103 degrees. Nurses and other staff calling in sick, both for illness and for mental strain. Numbers are soaring. It's really, really bad. We have a few travelers starting this week and federal emergency medical corps coming. Of course, it will take time to get them up to speed. We had some with the initial surge and most had to be let go. Let's hope this batch is better, but with Houston, San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley and DFW all struggling, its going to be very, very rough. The halls are very somber this morning.

Farmnurse · Jul 14, 2020

Houston, TX We’re full and have overflowed to several other units. Some units were”shut down” from their norm. because the staff that work that area are sick themselves, so it’s now Covid unit. They’re going to start pulling nurses from couplet care and l&d to staff other units. They are requesting any of us with RT of phlebotomy experience to sign up to work extra shifts. We’ve had numerous nurses sick and as long as you aren’t symptomatic, you can work. We’re now instructed to reuse our N95 masks 10 times before we get a new one. They are to be brought to sterile processing to be sterilized when used. We tally them and will be given another one once that one reaches its 10th use. It’s just insane! I’m not certain that an n95 is truly an n95 after being sterilized 9 times! I’ve only seen where people have done it 3 times. Sorry for long rant. LOL Just would feel better going to work knowing we were safe but that’s definitely not the case.

NewRN'16, ADN, RN · Jul 14, 2020

Ours are high. Very high. Becoming overwhelming.

?

FL here.

ladycody, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2020

On 7/14/2020 at 6:56 AM, NewRN'16 said:
Ours are high. Very high. Becoming overwhelming.
?
FL here.

Am sorry. ? Please remember to practice some self care...it's going to be really important.

Chief NP, MSN, RN, APN, APRN, NP · Jul 16, 2020

Full houses...some of our patients on non- covid floors are now testing positive for covid 19... got exposed , on a 14 day watch and they still have me working. So , that's it

ladycody, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2020

18 hours ago, babatee said:
Full houses...some of our patients on non- covid floors are now testing positive for covid 19... got exposed , on a 14 day watch and they still have me working. So , that's it

We've had a few of those negatives turned positives over the last few weeks as well...but have thankfully managed to escape a fiasco with regard to spread ....well...one little fiasco...but we are not innundated here right now either...so it was manageable.