The following column was submitted to PrinceGeorgeMatters from Kate Goertzen, Emergency Room Registered Nurse at University Hospital of Northern BC (UHNBC) and Prince George resident.
You might not believe in COVID-19, I don’t care.
But we do!
Nurses and healthcare professionals are exhausted. We are terrified of not only getting this ourselves, but if we did, then passing it along to others.
We also live in the north, where we can often feel forgotten... I didn’t truly realize this until I moved back to Prince George this spring.
When I asked where the Cavy wipes (one-time use cleaning wipes) lived and they scoffed saying, 'Ya, we haven’t seen those in months!'
Or, when I asked why our hospital socks looked like they’d been worn by multiple people and not in plastic when I got them. I was told that they are re-used and not sent home with patients, but washed again and again.
You might not believe in COVID-19, I don’t care.
We do!
But, I bet you believe in heart attacks, car accidents, appendicitis, long waiting times for procedures or even to see a doctor.
Our beds are so full, even not in a pandemic, but in Prince George, we have had to send COVID-19 positive patients to other hospitals because we don’t have the capability to care for them right now.
You might not believe in COVID-19, but now what happens when your dad has a heart attack and the medical system can’t care for him in the way he requires?
What happens when you end up in a massive car accident and need that bed in ICU, but it’s full and they're at capacity?
What happens when your mom needs an ultrasound and it’s been pushed off for months and just maybe it was cancer they could’ve found and treated right away, but now it’s palliative care for her?
Okay, so you don’t believe in COVID-19...
Actually, I do care!
Stay home, for not only your own sake, but for those who you might come into contact with while your asymtompatic.
Stay home, not because you’re healthy and yes, you might be just fine, but what if you aren’t?
Then will you believe in COVID-19? When you’re gasping for air and begging your healthcare worker to save your life?
Stay home because we sure as heck want to and yes, we do believe in COVID-19.
