TO
TO FIND
TO FIND OUT. THE SHOW STARTS NOW . GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.
THEY
THEY
THEY >>
THEY >> TOLD US THIS WINTER WOULD BE
SOMETHING WE NEEDED TO BRACE
OURSELVES FOR WITH COVID AND
WE ARE SEEING THAT GRIM WARNING
START TO TAKE SHAPE. OUR COUNTRY
REPORTED ITS HIGHEST DAILY DEATH
TOLL FROM THE CORONOAVIRUS
YESTERDAY AND TODAY HERE AT HOME
IN MINNESOTA WE LEARNED NINETY
TWO MORE PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM
THE DISEASE. THAT'S THE SECOND
HIGHEST DAILY REPORT. WHILE
TREATMENT OVERALL IS GETTING
BETTER, IT'S HARD TO AVOID SO
MANY DEATHS WHEN WE'VE BEEN
AVERAGING ROUGHLY SIX TO EIGHT
THOUSAND POSITIVE CASES A DAY
IN THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS AND FOR
WEEKS NOW WE'VE BEEN TALKING
ABOUT THE ECOVID SURGE
THREATENING OUR HOSPITALS
AND WHY THE CONCERN ISN'T
A SHORTAGE OF BEDS. IT'S A
SHORTAGE OF STAFF. FORTUNATELY,
A NUMBER OF TRAVELING NURSES
WITH SPECIAL SKILLS HAVE HELPED
SOME HOSPITALS KEEP UP .
AND TODAY KENT CAUGHT UP WITH
ONE OF THEM TO FIND OUT WHY HE
CAME TO MINNESOTA
>>. THE COVID-19
>> PANDEMIC HAS TAKEN LIVES
AND ALSO CHANGED LIVES,
INCLUDING SOME WHO ARE INSPIRED
TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO SAVE
LIVES
LIVES
LIVES >>.
LIVES >>. I LIKE TO TRAVEL BUT I
DIDN'T KNOW THAT I'D BE
TRAVELING AS A NURSE, LET ALONE
BEING IN MINNESOTA. 30 YEAR OLD
LASKER CRUZ IS AN ICU NURSE WHO
TRAVELED TO MINNESOTA FOR THE
FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE BACK
IN MARCH TO HELP STAFF BETHESDA,
THE COUNTRY'S FIRST DEDICATED
COVID-19 HOSPITAL, MOVING AWAY
FROM HIS GIRLFRIEND, TWO KIDS
AND EXTENDED FAMILY SEEMED
UNTHINKABLE BACK IN JANUARY,
BUT HIS THINKING CHANGED WHEN
COVID CAME TO CHICAGO
>>. PROBABLY THE SIXTH DEATH
IN CHICAGO WAS FROM THE HOSPITAL
THAT ALICE AND I TOOK CARE OF
THAT ONE PARTICULAR PATIENT. SO
I WAS JUST SCARED TO DEATH.
IT'S JUST BEEN REALLY DIFFICULT
FOR ME TO COME HOME AND SAY HI
TO MY KIDS, GIVE THEM A HUG.
MOST OF THE TIME I HAVE TO HIDE
THE FACT THAT MY LIFE, MY
HOUSEHOLD HAS THREE, FOUR SENIOR
CITIZENS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT
I WOULD DO IF I CAN IF THEY GET
SICK, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S BECAUSE
OF ME, IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY
DIFFICULT TO SWALLOW.
>> NOT THAT IT'S A LOT EASIER
WALKING INTO A BRAND NEW HIGH
STRESS COVID ICU IN A STRANGE
CITY WITH JUST TWO DAYS NOTICE
>> REALLY HAVE TO JUMP FROM
HOTELS TO HOTELS, FIND THE BEST
DEALS THAT I CAN TO SAVE MONEY
AT THE SAME TIME SO I CAN SEND
IT HOME WHILE I WORK. AND THAT'S
THAT'S HOW IT'S BEEN FOR THE
PAST EIGHT MONTHS
>>. AT LEAST THAT'S HOW IT WAS.
LASKER GOT A CHANCE TO RETURN
HOME LATE LAST MONTH
>> TO ASK OR JUST TO BREAK
TO CELEBRATE MY DAUGHTER'S
FOURTH BIRTHDAY BECAUSE
I HAVEN'T BEEN AROUND RAV4
FOR SO LONG. SO AT LEAST
THE VERY LEAST THAT I CAN DO IS
JUST BE THERE ON HER SPECIAL DAY
>>. BUT HE LIKELY WON'T BE THERE
FOR THE HOLIDAYS ON MONDAY.
HE'LL REJOIN HIS TEAM WHICH
NOW WORKS OUT OF ST. JOE'S
HOSPITAL AND HIS NEW CONTRACT
LASTS UNTIL MARCH
>>. I THINK ABOUT IT THIS AS
A TRADE OFF IF I HAVE TO NOT SEE
THEM FOR A FEW MONTHS. BUT SEE
THEM LATER ON FOR MANY, MANY
YEARS, I DON'T MIND AT ALL.
THAT'S PRETTY INCREDIBLE
TO SPEND THAT MUCH TIME IN ONE
PLACE, ESPECIALLY AS A TRAVELING
NURSE WHERE YOU KNOW YOU COULD
MAKE MORE MONEY IN OTHER STATES,
IN OTHER PLACES RIGHT NOW .
WHY STAY? I LOVE THE PEOPLE
I WORK WITH IN MINNESOTA AND I
THINK THAT'S THE MAIN REASON
WHY I STAYED. YOU HAVE TO HAVE
SOMEONE THAT'S ALWAYS THERE
FOR YOU BECAUSE SOMETIMES
THE EMOTIONS ARE TOO
OVERWHELMING, ESPECIALLY
OVERWHELMING, ESPECIALLY FOR PATIENTS THAT ARE IN THE
PROCESS OF DYING. AND I'VE HAD
A FEW NURSES THAT HAVE CRIINAL
ON MY SHOULDERS. WE ALL HAVE
TO TAKE TIME SOMETIMES WHEN YOU
DO YOUR BEST AND IT'S NOT
ENOUGH, YOU JUST HAVE TO STEP
UP AND IT'S JUST IT'S JUST NICE
TO REALLY HAVE THAT TEAM. IT
SOUNDS LIKE A FAMILY. YES.
BASICALLY IT IS BASICALLY
A SOMEONE THAT'S CLEARLY MADE
HUGE SACRIFICES TO HELP
WITH THIS. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
TO OTHERS IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT
NOW ? I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE
COMPLAIN OF HOW DIFFICULT IT IS
TO PUT ON A MASK THROUGH
THE POEOLE WITH THE LOCKDOWN
SOCIAL DISTANCE. BUT WITH ALL
HONESTY, ALL OF THOSE
HEALTH CARE WORKERS WEAR WE'RE
DEALING WITH IT LIKE FIVE TIMES
AS HARD AS ANYBODY ELSE BECAUSE
WE HAVE TO BE HUNDREDS OF MILES
AWAY FROM FAMILY. WE ARE
CONSTANTLY WEARING A MASK EVERY
SINGLE SHIFT FOR TWELVE HOURS
WE'RE STUCK IN HOTELS AND YOU
KNOW, SOMETIMES WE DO GET SICK.
I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE
CARE , TAKE IT SERIOUSLY BECAUSE
THE MORE WE TAKE IT SERIOUSLY,
IT'S EASIER FOR US TO RECOVER.
NOW . LASKER SAYS HE DOES FEEL
LUCKY BECAUSE HE HAS FRIENDS
BACK IN CHICAGO THAT BROUGHT
THE VIRUS HOME AND FAMILY
MEMBERS THAT DIED AS A RESULT.
HE ALSO SAYS HE FEELS LUCKY
BECAUSE HE'S CLOSE ENOUGH
TO CHICAGO RIGHT NOW THAT HE CAN
GET HOME IN AN EMERGENCY
AND HE'S ALSO MAKING, OF COURSE,
A LITTLE EXTRA MONEY. AND AS YOU
HEARD, HE'S SENDING IT BACK
BECAUSE HE SAYS HE HAS OTHER
FAMILY MEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN
LAID OFF OR LOST THEIR JOBS
BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC GENOLA
SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT PERSON,
KENNY SAID IN YOUR STORY,
TRAVELING NURSES WITH ICU
EXPERIENCE ARE REALLY IN HIGH
DEMAND ALL OVER THE COUNTRY
RIGHT NOW . IS HE ONE OF THE
EXCEPTIONS BY CHOOSING TO STAY
IN MINNESOTA OR WHY IS
HE STAYING REALLY? WELL , I DO
KNOW THAT SOME OTHERS HAVE ALSO
DECIDED TO STAY IN . A LOT OF IT
DOES COME DOWN TO CONSISTENCY.
HE SAID THAT ANOTHER NURSE
THAT HAS BEEN HERE FOR SEVERAL
MONTHS TOLD ME THAT TODAY OVER
THE PHONE SHE SAID IN OTHER
ENVIRONMENTS AND OTHER STATES
WHERE SHE'S BEEN SOMETIMEES
THEY'VE HAD TO EVEN BUY THEIR
OWN PPE. SO THEY DO LIKE
THE ENVIRONMENT THAT THEY'VE HAD
HERE AND THE SUPPORT IN THESE
HOSPITALS AND THEY ALSO MIGHT
HAVE TO WORK 60 HOUR WEEKS
IN SOME OTHER STATES LIKE