Sara Taylor loved her morning coffee.
Then the coronavirus arrived.
“Everyday I had a cup before work,” said Taylor, 37. “But that came to a quick stop about a month ago. I’m on the road most of the day and since the lock down there’s no longer a place out in the community to use the restroom.”
Taylor’s lack of morning caffeine is just some of fallout realized by those on the front line in the daily battle with the coronavirus.
“We are all in the same boat, but not the same storm,” she said. “Everyone has different worries from parents to child care to financial issues there’s a heighten level of anxiety and concern.”
For the past five years Taylor has served as a Registered Nurse Case Manager. The Hadley Township resident and former Goodrich High School student left a large urban hospital for duties in the field as a home health nurse.
“Our goal (as a home health nurse) is to prevent hospitalization and educate patients,” said Taylor. “That’s why I left the hospital to go out in the field. I realized I could do more before people were seriously ill. Daily I work to help patients overcome roadblocks in taking care of themselves.”
Healthcare workers, like Taylor are at the center of the coronavirus battle.
As of April 6, according to the Detroit Free Press about 1,500 workers — including 500 nurses — are off the job at Beaumont Health, Michigan’s largest hospital system with symptoms consistent with coronavirus. Detroit based Henry Ford Health System said it had about 600-700 workers who had tested positive for coronavirus.
Taylor’s day is divided between non-medical facilities such as assisted living, adult foster care and private homes.
“Anywhere where a nurse is not on staff—I go,” she said.
Typically, her patient’s needs range from wound care to pain management to illness recovery, along with a key component — learning techniques to care for themselves.
The daily work area is both diverse and challenging. The homes she visits often includes pets, smoke, and surfaces where a variety of people may have visited. Some of the area she travels each day is economically depressed which often adds to the challenge.
“It’s a regular Petri dish,” she explains. “It’s an uncontrolled environment, compared to the inside of a hospital.”
Once inside the home she does not sit down. She dons a mask, gloves, then wipes down her equipment a minimum of three times. Then removes the mask and gloves before returning to her car and on to the next case. The routine to stay safe, clean and coronavirus free, while taxing, is a matter of survival.
“Less than one half hour inside the patient’s home,” she said. “Playing social worker sometimes takes me longer inside too—that comes with the job. Today I’m way more cognizant of what I wear and what I do with the clothes when I get home—my work scrubs, masks, gloves, keys, sunglasses, shoes, socks all are left in my garage in a special box. I shower immediately before any contact with family. I have a husband and three young children at home. Myself, like other front-line medical workers today, have to protect our families too. The coronavirus will come home with me if I’m not careful.”
Due to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) laws Taylor is limited in sharing experiences with patients. However, as the hospitals fill with coronavirus patients, those not in grave danger, are often discharged and quarantined to their private homes. Taylor keeps an eye on these coronavirus patients—visiting sometimes twice a day. Adding to the home environment challenges are other family members and those who may come in the home during the day. The truth is that viruses do not discriminate—they can affect anyone, no matter your race, national origin, ethnic background, age, or gender.
“One of the biggest fights is to identify the symptoms of the coronavirus and education,” she said. “Add all that while treating our regular patients and my day is full.”
Coronavirus tests will be available for Medicare beneficiaries who cannot leave their homes, and testing will be ramped-up in nursing homes, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced last week.
“Right now with the coronavirus we don’t want people going to the hospital for several reasons,” she said. “Foremost is to not overburden the hospital or the staff. Also, just as important is we don’t want more infection in the hospital. We are striving to keep people healthy at home. When we see coronavirus and can keep a patient at home we are breaking the chain of infection. We work to quarantine the family at home. If they go out of the house for any reason the virus can spread. We are the last line of defense. Keep in mind coronavirus is a new strain and we are all learning more each day, we need to be extra careful.”
Taylor expressed compassion toward the older population during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Seniors often have little or no social contract to begin with,” she said. “I see the tears and it’s beyond upsetting for our elders. I see in real life 90 year-olds looking out the windows at me. The social isolation to the sensory is devastating.”
The technology gap often fuels the isolation.
“Seniors often don’t text or visit via Facetime,” she said. “They often have difficulty hearing, understanding, speaking and seeing. So when they are confined to a bedroom with few visitors for days and now weeks at a time it’s a tough time.”