Stay Home: Tales From A New York Emergency Room During COVID-19
Monique Rice is a Physician Assistant (PA) in New York City. Upon graduating from PA school, she was excited to work alongside doctors in the emergency room setting. Little did she know that her first year on the job would include the first widespread pandemic we’ve seen in our lifetime.
We caught up with Monique to learn what it is like on the front lines of fighting COVID-19, the new strain of coronavirus that is taking the world, and more specifically, New York by storm.
Monique speaks on preparing for each day:
Before I leave my house, I try not to take anything unnecessary with me. I used to bring a book bag with me but I stopped so that it can be one less thing that I have to clean and sanitize before I come home. Now, I literally bring myself, my debit card and my license. I wear a watch and that is it.
When I get to work, we go through a different entrance than the public and we have to sign in upon arrival. There, I’m given the mask that I am supposed to wear for my entire shift before I enter the emergency department. Once I’m there, I have to find the other supplies that I need to cover my hair and my face, and then I sanitize my work station before I start my shift.
On the media’s representation of COVID-19:
Besides reading articles that come across my phone, I don’t really look at the news. I’m living it and I don’t need to read about it. I know that statistically we (New York) have the highest number of cases in the country — with Brooklyn and Queens being the hardest hit. It is a bad situation that we’re in because the amount of patients that are coming in with severe symptoms overwhelm the amount of space that we have. We’re all out of isolation rooms. The good news is that there’s a field hospital in Central Park and the Javits Center that should offset the amount of patients in the emergency departments across the city. When these places open up, I’m sure they will take the pressure off of us, but for now, it’s crowded and there is no space. There are a lot of patients and it’s something that none of us have ever experienced before. It’s really tough. It’s hard. There are a lot of sick patients and about 90% of them are confirmed or expected to be COVID-19 positive. Everyone has a cough, fever and shortness of breath.
On working in the Emergency Room:
When I went into emergency medicine, I liked the ER because you see a variety of different ailments. I believe it helps strengthen my skills to work with the array of patients and everyday is different and unpredictable. It’s almost an adrenaline rush because you never know what is coming through the door. That has drastically changed since COVID-19. It’s worrisome because people still have heart attacks and strokes, but where are these patients now? It is so different from just 3 weeks ago.
Everyday that I come to work, I look forward to working with my coworkers. In the emergency room we see a lot of sad things — a lot of tragedies, and a lot of death and suffering. One thing about us emergency workers is that we’re able to have a perspective that helps keep the moral high. We joke around a lot and uplift each other’s spirits even when we know it’s crazy and we’re going through something that will forever change us all. We’re all feeling it and a little nervous, but being around my coworkers is a good distraction because we’re able to cope with it together. It has definitely brought us together and it has really built more camaraderie. Everyone is really working hard to take care of this situation.
On the realities of a pandemic:
I never thought that I would encounter a pandemic in my first year working as a Physician Assistant. Before PA school, I worked as a scribe in the emergency department during the Ebola outbreak and I witnessed hazard training, but it never became an outbreak in the US. Even with other outbreaks such as Bird Flu or SARS, we’ve never seen anything like this. We would always practice putting on PPE and N95 masks, but we never imagined that we would actually be putting them to use.
It’s true that people who are older and with multiple health issues such as diabetes, cancer, heart problems or respiratory illnesses are more at risk, but this disease can cause very severe symptoms in young people. I’ve seen it affect people in their 20s and 30s very severely, and we have more people coding every day than we normally do. When we’re advising people to stay home, it really is for a reason. You can be asymptomatic and spread the disease to others, and we’re seeing the effects of that every day. COVID-19 presents itself in a wide range of symptoms. Some get cold or flu-like symptoms and can recover at home with Tylenol and rest. Others have to be admitted to the hospital because they need support with their breathing. The virus has such an intense effect on the lungs, so many need support — whether that’s additional oxygen or as drastic as a ventilator. This is the scary part, because its not following any particular pattern.
On being exposed to the virus:
When I’m at the hospital, its always on my mind to be on high alert. I’m careful to wash my hands properly, to not touch my face, to take off my gloves properly, and turn off the sink with a paper towel. It’s always on my mind: “don’t contaminate yourself.” All I can do is be diligent to try to protect myself as best as I can, but I am dealing with patients and taking care of them. When we signed up to be health care providers we always thought about helping people, but we didn’t think we would be risking our own lives. I’ve seen this virus effect doctors and nurses who have now become patients. However, this is what we’re here for, and we’re going to do our best to take care of everyone.
To the public:
I just really want to stress the fact that people should adhere to stay at home orders because it’s the best situation for everyone. It’s best for your family and friends, and strangers you don't know. We know it is hard, we know it is a sacrifice, but if we all stay home, create new hobbies and reach out in new ways, we can slow the spread. We’re really dependent on one another. The Department of Health is also trying to educate people on when to stay at home versus when to come into an emergency room or urgent care. If you are having mild systems and can breath on your own, those are symptoms that can be managed at home. But if you have a fever that is not breaking or trouble breathing, that is when you want to seek medical attention. If anyone has a question about whether or not they should see a doctor, they can (in New York City) call 311 and speak with someone. We don’t want to overwhelm the hospitals anymore than they already are. We want as many people to survive this as possible, and we all just have to do our part to stay home for now so that we can get back to normal life.
— Monique Rice
A huge thank you to all of the essential workers and healthcare providers for taking care of us during this difficult time! Together we will get through this. STAY HOME.