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HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A hospital executive for the Memorial Healthcare System says frontline workers are exhausted due to the constant stream of coronavirus patients and from working multiple 12-hour shifts each week.
Every day, according to hospital officials, remains a struggle for nurses and caregivers in the Memorial Healthcare System.
“We see a wide age range of patients that are coming through the door that are so sick,” Maggie Hansan, Memorial’s Chief Nursing Executive, said. “It’s very taxing. It’s taxing on them physically, emotionally and spiritually. They still suffer with that personal fear. They are telling me that they’ve written their last will and testament just in case, which is so sad.”
According to the state, only 13% of the ICU beds at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood are available.
Hansan said the constant stream of COVID-19 patients is exhausting.
“Some of them are working a fourth shift, a fifth shift, a sixth shift in a week, and these are 12-hour shifts,” she said.
Hansan added that the best way to help frontline workers is to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as wearing a mask, washing hands and practicing social distancing.
“Stay well so that we don’t need to take care of you,” she said.
The healthcare system said they are doing what they can to support the nurses and the other caregivers in the hospital.
Although the pandemic has continued for almost five months, some frontline workers continue to live out of hotels, so they do not infect their loved ones with the virus.
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