DiversityNursing Blog

Many Nurses and Doctors said in interviews with TIME, that fighting COVID-19 is making them feel more dedicated to their chosen career, and determined to persevere and help their patients. But, many also said they were struggling with negative feelings.

Healthcare workers are afraid of spreading the virus to their families, frustrated about the lack of PPE, and feel they can’t do enough for their patients. First responders are tired from long shifts, and are extremely sad for their dying patients, of which many are passing away alone. This is heartbreaking.

Dr. Jay Kaplan, an emergency room Physician and wellness specialist at LCMC Health system in New Orleans, lets his staff know they aren't alone. He listens as Nurses and Doctors share their fears and problems.

Kaplan tells them it’s okay to get sad or angry over the coronavirus. He reads them his poems. He shares that one day he came home and cried to his wife because he was  overwhelmed by the rate of dying patients.

“We need to break the culture of silence and let people know it’s okay not to have it all together all the time,” he said.

Kaplan’s “wellness visits” are a key strategy in preventing healthcare workers from spiraling into depression and post-traumatic stress disorder during the pandemic. Many hospitals across the U.S. are launching similar initiatives.

Mount Sinai hospitals in New York City ramped up initiatives, such as a 24/7 mental health crisis line and one-on-one counseling. It also launched a wellness and resilience center that will track staffers' mental health long term.

Dr. Deborah B. Marin, Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the new center said,  “This multi-disciplinary center will consider the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs of our entire health care community, including those on the frontline and in supporting roles. Working closely with every department across the health system, our aim is to not only address  but to also prevent the development of mental health issues before they occur by intervening early, offering resilience training and treatment for every health care working in need. It’s important that we launch now as this crisis continues to evolve and take a toll on our community.”

Several healthcare workers in the TIME interviews said, among all the uncertainty and fear, they have found some relief in support from their families, communities, and one another.

We’re offering this article during Nurses Week as a reminder to all to be as patient, kind and loving to our Nurses, Healthcare workers, first responders, grocery store employees and all the people out there working to keep us safe. Thank you!

Article from www.discovernursing.com

With the many horrific disasters happening across the country, have you considered how you can help? Of course you have. You’re a Nurse and that’s what you do – care for others. This is a terrific interview of a Nurse who retired a year ago and is now volunteering for the Red Cross. Her skills are desperately needed. Perhaps her story will inspire you.

Mary Yoshino, FNP, wore an identification badge for years that told the world who she was and what she represented in the healthcare community. When she retired from being a nurse, Mary wasn’t sure what her next step would be, but she knew she wanted to continue to help people.

Currently, Mary is on the ground in Houston, Texas, volunteering in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, an extremely destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane that made landfall in southern Texas in August 2017. We recently had the opportunity to speak with her to learn more about her career and her current role as a volunteer disaster response nurse.

Nursing Notes (NN): Can you share a little bit about your nursing background?

Mary: All my life, I wanted to be a nurse. As a student nurse at Johnston-Willis Hospital School of Nursing in Richmond, Va., I became very active with the American Red Cross by taking and teaching classes. Since graduation, my nursing career has spanned 47 years in all areas of nursing and multiple states. I have worked in intensive care units and emergency rooms, college health services, and the Army Nurse Corps Reserve. I went back to school to become a nurse practitioner in 1990, and then worked as a family nurse practitioner for 26 years before retiring last year at the age of 69. I took this past year to reflect on what I wanted to do in my next phase of life.  

NN: What made you want to volunteer during Hurricane Harvey, and how did you get involved?

Mary: I received a text from my son in Friendswood, Texas, saying that his home was taking on water and that he and his family were evacuating. That morning, I signed up to volunteer with the Red Cross. I was so desperate to help people again and was deployed out of Albany, N.Y., to Houston with a team of four other nurses.

NN: What are your day-to-day responsibilities as a volunteer nurse?

Mary: Currently, I’m a supervisor for a 460-resident shelter facility. We’re responsible for going from cot to cot, making rounds and assessing residents’ health needs daily. We are doing dressing changes, distributing over-the-counter medications, and calling for prescription refills. Some of our patients are very sick; yesterday alone we called 911 four times. We talk to our patients, hear their stories, and hold back our tears as we wipe away theirs. Our day is busy. There’s no time to sit, and very little time to eat because our patients’ needs come first.  

NN: What is the most rewarding aspect of this volunteer role?

Mary: The most rewarding aspect is to see the gratefulness in the eyes of the people we help. They come in feeling dehumanized, as they have lost all that they hold dear. Some cry and some are quiet, but they see that we care and we talk to them about the realness of their situation and ask them quietly how we may help them. Today, I was with a woman who teared up and said, "You really care, don't you?" A kind smile, manners, and showing respect goes a long way.

NN: What did you take away from this experience?

Mary: This experience has inspired me to go back and work in our local Red Cross chapter, to be a spokesperson for the Red Cross and to encourage others to volunteer. Even on a local front, there are so many ways to help.

NN: What do you wish others knew about the impact that Hurricane Harvey has had on citizens and communities?

Mary: My team has seen firsthand the destruction around Houston and realized just how real this hurricane was and how it has changed the lives of so many. As other breaking news has developed, people here are still feeling the effects of Harvey and are coming together in the communities that were hit the hardest. In my son's community, all homes were destroyed, but they went door to door helping each other. It’s about people helping people.

NN: What advice do you have for other nurses who are interested in disaster response nursing?

Mary: Let's do it!!! Be there, hold a hand, wipe a tear, make people feel human and safe again. Think back to why you became a nurse, and let those reasons once again come to the front. Let's go make a difference.

NN: Is there anything else you’d like to share about this experience?

Mary: When I retired from nursing, I broke down emotionally. I did not know who I was besides a nurse practitioner. The Red Cross has given me my life back. I feel like I have found my niche. I came to Houston and realized that I can still make a difference. I will return home in mid-October after having been in Houston for a month. In November, I hope to be deployed somewhere again. This time, I will go in knowing I have the confidence to lead and make a difference for the victims of a disaster.

To learn more about volunteering as a nurse through the Red Cross, visit www.redcross.org.  

It’s Friday and we thought a feel good story was a good idea. We’d like to share the happy news that a Boston marathon bombing survivor is going to marry the firefighter who took care of her that life-changing and devastating day. He kept coming back to visit her in the hospital. Their friendship and love grew as they got to know each other.

Because a Nurses job is to help people whether it’s caring for their patients, doing research to improve patient care, or educating our future Nurses, a firefighter’s job is to help their community too. Both professions selflessly help people in a variety of situations, some extremely difficult.

As a website devoted to Nurses within Diverse communities, we see many similarities within the 2 professions and we hope you enjoy this story.

When Roseann Sdoia was gravely injured in the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, Michael Materia, a firefighter, was the responder who took her to the hospital. They were strangers at the time, but he has rarely left her side since.

In December, the two decided to get married. And on Wednesday, they took on an entirely different kind of challenge together: walking up the 1,576 steps to the observation deck of the Empire State Building in Manhattan to raise money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation — an organization that has played a major role in Ms. Sdoia’s recovery.

Just as he had on the day they first crossed paths, Firefighter Materia wore all of his firefighting equipment, including a heavy oxygen tank on his back. She wore a prosthesis, which has replaced the leg she lost on the day of the bombing.

The day they met was among the darkest in Boston’s modern history. After two bombs were detonated on April 15, 2013, smoke billowed across the finish line and the scene erupted into chaos.

Hundreds of people were injured on that Monday, and three people lost their lives. Had it not been for Firefighter Materia, it might have been four.

Ms. Sdoia’s right leg was severely injured in the explosion. A bystander rushed over and fashioned a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Firefighter Materia, responding with his fire brigade, was put in charge of escorting Ms. Sdoia to the hospital. With no ambulance immediately available, she found herself lying on a metal bench in the back of a police transport vehicle.

Despite her injury, Ms. Sdoia was fully alert as they drove toward the hospital. “He was kneeling on the ground, trying to hold me from sliding, trying to hold himself, and trying to hold the tourniquet,” she said. “And then here I am, telling him to hold my hand! So the poor guy had a lot going on.”

Firefighter Materia stuck with her until they reached the hospital, where Ms. Sdoia’s right leg had to be amputated above the knee. He visited again a few days later to offer assistance, and then again the day after that.

After a couple of months, a friendship between the two bloomed into a romance. “There was an interest growing in each other, kind of quietly, until we talked about it,” Ms. Sdoia said.

Firefighter Materia popped the question on Dec. 4 during a trip to Nantucket. They intend to marry in October or November, according to The New York Post, which reported on the couple this week.

But before they get married, Ms. Sdoia, 48, and Firefighter Materia, 37, decided to take on New York City. On Wednesday evening, Mr. Materia pulled on his fire equipment while Ms. Sdoia explained her strategy for the climb: Go slow and steady, and lead with the left leg.

The couple were among hundreds of runners who made the arduous climb on Wednesday for an annual event called the Empire State Building Run-Up, which is in its 40th year and benefits the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

For months, Ms. Sdoia trained on the steps of Bunker Hill Monument, a towering obelisk just north of Boston commemorating the Battle of Bunker Hill, among the defining moments in the Revolutionary War.

The event at the Empire State Building was a fitting milestone in Ms. Sdoia’s own battle. Along with Firefighter Materia, the lifelong Red Sox fan has become something of a hero for Boston, where friends and family have followed her recovery, celebrated her engagement, and supported her efforts to climb New York City’s third-highest building.

The race ended at the observation deck on the 86th floor of the skyscraper, where Ms. Sdoia smiled and stopped to chat with photographers in the chill winter air while Firefighter Materia, camera-shy, stayed mostly quiet under his firefighter’s helmet.

Ms. Sdoia said she was happy to have his support, which hasn’t wavered since that ride to the hospital nearly four years ago. “We’ve spent a lot of time together,’’ she said, “and from that we got to see each other’s characters and really just bond.”