(calm guitar music)
- Hi, how's it going? - Good, how are you?
- Good, doing well. - Air hugs.
- Yeah. (everybody laughs)
- The support from the community has been overwhelming.
I mean, the love and the generosity and the thoughtfulness,
from the signs posted outside the hospital
as we're driving in to the delicious food
and the thoughtful cards and drawings
from families and children
and just everyone really
giving their support and their love.
As caregivers we innately wanna be able
to take care of you and we wanna give that to you.
So to be able to feel that back
and to have that be given to us, especially
at such a fragile time where we are showing up every day
and giving it our all, day after day, night after night,
it just helps keep us motivated and inspired
and we're just so grateful.
(zipper whirs)
The things that we have learned through this crisis
that we can continue to use moving forward
is a rapid response of disaster preparedness.
We are continuously growing and evolving and striving
to do the right thing all the time here at Scripps --
to not only protect ourselves as caregivers
and do the right thing
to take those extra moments to adequately protect ourselves
using the proper equipment and having everything
in the appropriate places that they need to be
so that we can give the most effective, safe care
to our patients and the community, as always.
Some of those things will be an immediate screening,
the disaster preparedness,
creating and utilizing resources and additional teams,
and making sure the right people are in the right places
at the right times so that we can keep giving and giving
and caring and supporting our community,
just as we always have and always strive to.
Here, we have designated specific areas
in our emergency department to isolate this population
in order to best protect themselves
and ourselves, utilizing extreme measures, very careful
and thorough personal protective equipment
for the emergency team providers to protect ourselves
and to deliver the most efficient, effective,
and compassionate care to this population.
What you can do at home to help us here
in the emergency department is continue
to wash your hands, continue to social distance.
But listen, we are here, we are ready for you.
This is a safe environment. We are beyond prepared.
If you have chest pain, if you fall, if you injure yourself,
if you're not feeling well, we are here, as always,
to help you and to help take care of you.
If you feel that you might be having
some COVID-related symptoms, please call the nurse line
and go through those channels to see what they recommend
and what the safest thing is for you,
but know that we are always here for you
and always prepared, no matter what your needs are.
There are so many situations
that, as a caregiver, we have readjusted our practices
to help this fragile population
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of those ways are just remembering
to smile with your eyes behind the mask,
to look less intimidating and more welcoming
with all of our equipment on.
Sometimes we're the last people that these patients see
that are at the end of their life,
and it is an honor and a privilege to be there,
to hold their hand, to be the extension of their family
when their family's not allowed in during this time.
We wanna continue to give that empathetic and loving care.
We're trying to utilize technology,
with iPads and different phone resources
so that the family can still be connected with a patient
during this difficult and tragic time,
to give the patient and the family the honor, the respect,
and the grieving process that they deserve,
to make that connection, and to never leave their bedside,
as no one should ever pass alone.
And as their family, as that person
that's there with them, it's a privilege.