Ashley Eddings, Clinical Support Manager

One week it’s business as usual and life as you know it seems normal. The following week, you are reading and hearing headlines about a novel virus, COVID-19, and what it could mean if it spread in the US. The week after that? Faced with the new reality that this novel virus could potentially be here to stay so get ready. And the next week, you’re faced with numerous patients coming in the hospital doors with this virus, however, now it is a pandemic and there is truly no end in sight. Proper training, staffing and material resources are scarce. Patients enter the hospital in desperate need of care, all the while staff often feel unprepared, unsafe, fearful, worried, and overwhelmed. Now more than a month into this pandemic, the circumstances still feel bleak for many healthcare workers. And yet, those on the frontlines still answered the very difficult call, honored their oath, and put their lives on the line to save ours.

“With the high absenteeism rates among healthcare workers (running in some organizations as high as 40%), we are seeing healthcare professionals working long hours, with expanded patient care responsibilities, and working under increasingly stressful conditions” (para. 7). Limited staffing and resources have long since plagued the healthcare industry but coupled with a pandemic that has further taxed ratios, acuity, workload, and the work environment, it places an even heavier burden on every staff member. While many factors need to be considered with each patient as we learn more about COVID-19, the mental strain under these unprecedented conditions can be challenging. Those on the frontlines deserve a round of applause.

As many of us are in the safety and comfort of our own homes, there many who face each day fearing the unknown yet boldly embrace their calling. We’re learning that many healthcare workers are distancing from their own families to protect them from the possibility of being exposed. Healthcare workers are falling ill to the very virus they are working diligently to cure others from. For many families, one or both parents are frontline staff which alters life at home for the unforeseeable future. The strain on the healthcare workers and their families is beyond comprehension as they navigate these troubled waters. They and their families deserve a round of applause.

Many staff on the frontlines are sharing resourceful videos which include tips on how to protect oneself from contracting the virus, as well as what to do if one does contract COVID-19. They speak from first-hand experience and try to educate the masses as best as possible. Even after long shifts and tireless efforts to help those in need at the bedside, they still find the time to think about everyone else in order to positively impact their community and slow the spread. They deserve a round of applause.

The world is humbled and moved by the photos of healthcare workers with marks on their faces and bodies from protective equipment that must be worn to safely care for patients. Those on the frontlines are getting innovative with their protective gear to ensure their safety and comfort, and the safety of their teammates. Much gratitude to the healthcare workers for connecting the world back to the reality that is COVID-19 and giving us a small glimpse of what they are facing each day. It illuminates the many reasons why the community should stay home so one day this is no longer the reality. They deserve a round of applause.

And finally, to witness the celebration that ensues when a patient is extubated, discharged, and/or recovered is truly a sight to behold. A video was recently shared with me of nurses at a local hospital singing and dancing to “Lean on Me” that played over the hospital’s house-wide speakers in celebration of a COVID-19 patient discharged – a new tradition for every single patient. I’ve seen healthcare workers line the unit with parade-like cheering and clapping for each patient that heads home. Healthcare workers have reminded us to praise both big and small milestones, and to genuinely celebrate life each day despite obstacles and uncertainties. They have restored faith in humanity for many and personify strength, resilience, determination, and true selflessness. While this pandemic has taken much, those on the frontlines have given twice as much. We’re forever grateful and indebted.

Indeed, they deserve a round of applause.