NEW ORLEANS— The stress of nurses working to battle coronavirus doesn’t end when they leave the job, in fact it’s unending.
We had an anonymous, candid conversation with 3 dialysis nurses in New Orleans who told us about what they see everyday and what they feel, including their fears.
Nurse 1 said, “Safety, not bringing this home to my family, not contracting it myself.”
Nurse 2 concurred, saying,”It’s been 2 weeks and 3 days since I’ve seen my kids because I’m so paranoid of what could happen to them.”
Many coronavirus patients have a need for dialysis, an extensive process that these nurses say is further complicated but the shortage of protective equipment.
“We spend about 30 to 40 minutes in each patient’s room at one time. We do receive masks and a gown but we have to reuse all of our equipment. They let us wipe it down and go to the next room, said Nurse 2.
Nurse1 chimed in,”We definitely need more PPE’s, that’s the main thing. We need to maintain our safety. When we go out who’s going to be there to take care of these patients?”
These professionals also told us that additional compensation for the increased risk is not adequate, in fact they’ve been offered an additional $100 per week.
“To put my family at risks for $100.00 week, the long amount of hours that we work, I look at it as a slap in the face,” said Nurse 2.
Added to this scenario is the stress of difficult family conversations.
Nurse 3 said,”I told my husband ‘listen I’m trying to make or tell him about how I want things for my funeral”
Make no mistake, these are dedicated New Orleans healthcare workers, having to make daily decisions to help others, at what could be their own peril.
According to Nurse 2, “I love saving lives, I love doing what I do but right now I’m having to pick between my work of saving others and my family’s health not just my own.”
The 3 nurses we spoke to work for independent companies at various hospitals in the New Orleans area.