NEW ORLEANS — With the surge COVID-19 cases, hospital staffs around the area, are in dire need of extra help. It’s a critical condition facing our hospitals.
There are more patients coming in with the highly-contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, while more and more medical staff must quarantine after exposure. That is stretching health care workers to the limit.
“People are physically tired and now they are emotionally tired as well, as you might imagine,” said Dr. Leron Finger, the Chief Quality Officer at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.
So at Children's Hospital, the cavalry, in the form of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, paramedics, pharmacists and respiratory therapists from Rhode Island-1 DMAT are being deployed.
They are parents, grandparents, husbands and wives, who left their families and the comfort of their own beds, to be at the bedsides of our own children sick with COVID.
“I leave my family and home because everyone on a DMAT believes that they are part of something bigger and truly is here for the public in their most vulnerable times in need,” said Paul Decerbo, Commander of Rhode Island-1 DMAT.
The travel team from Rhode Island has been asked to travel to a COVID hotspot to help overwhelmed hospital staff. Rhode Island-1 DMAT, will be deployed at Children's Hospital in New Orleans for two weeks.
“People are tired. I think they're doing their job and these kids and their families are getting top notch care, but that doesn't mean it's easy every single day,” said Dr. Finger.
Special tests under a hood make sure N95 masks prevent infection spread before they are donned by medical workers at Children's. Ask DMAT members why they do this and they answer, “It's my honor,” or “This mission is near and dear to my heart.” They show you pictures of the little ones they left behind, so that children here, fighting for their lives, can go home to their families too.
“For those people who thought kids weren't affected (by COVID-19), they're wrong, and that's why it's so important to get vaccinated,” added Dr. Finger.
Hospital staffing shortages are widespread. In a memo to staff, Touro management explained the health care worker shortage is “critical,” causing “grave” concerns there, and across the entire area. Other hospitals applied for help from a federal disaster medical assistance team, but right now there's just the one at Children's Hospital.
“And this is a self-inflicted wound. We as a community, have not chosen to get vaccinated to rates where we can really eliminate COVID-19,” Dr. Finger said.
Hospital staff calls the DMAT men and women, unsung heroes and heroines, as they come from as far away as Oregon and Maine to fill in gaps, making sure medical care here is not suffering.
Doctors at Children's Hospital say if all children 12 and older would get a COVID vaccine, that would help create herd protection surrounding all the younger children who are not eligible to get a vaccine yet.