'It's hard to keep morale up:' COVID-19 ICU nurses fear upcoming weeks
On Tuesday, North Carolina saw the highest number of coronavirus hospitalizations to date and experts say we haven't even reached the peak.
Posted — UpdatedDoctors and nurses working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic said they fear the upcoming weeks as they face major challenges of staffing and capacity.
2,033 people are currently hospitalized with COVID in North Carolina.
Doctors and nurses at UNC REX Hospital said they never expected eight months down the road to still be dealing with an influx of COVID-19 patients.
"It's hard to keep morale up, it's hard to keep everyone positive and caring for so many patients and family members and dealing with the issues on a day-to-to basis," said Helene Zehnder, the ICU nursing director at UNC Rex.
As healthcare workers wait for a vaccine, their biggest challenge is hospital capacity and keeping staff healthy enough to care for others.
"As the workforce gets sick, they're not going to be able to come in and take care of the beds that are filling up, and I think other hospitals are in the same position," said UNC Rex's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Linda Butler.
Across the state, hospitals are quickly filling up with regular and coronavirus patients. Hospital beds are 74% full, while ICU beds are 79% full. It's important to note that these aren't all COVID patients.
"There are times when our nurses cry, times when we can get angry," said Zehnder. "We just work very hard every day so we can provide the very best care for these patients."
UNC Hospitals, Duke University Hospital and WakeMed Hospital report a steady increase in coronavirus patients.
“These are some of the sickest patients we’ve ever had in the hospital," described Zehnder.
Many are concerned that it's only going to get worse.
"We do worry about our staff and what will happen in the coming weeks and months. We know we're not at the peak yet," said Zehnder.
While the numbers are concerning, health officials at UNC, Duke and WakeMed said they have plans in place to make space if needed, such as canceling procedures or using operating roomss as rooms for patients, but they said they hope it doesn't come to that.
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