- Are you having any difficulty breathing?
- Yes.
- Okay, where are you having any difficulty breathing?
- [crying] I just can't.
- Okay, look at me, look at me. - Any nausea or vomiting?
- Breathe in through your nose and out
through your mouth, okay?
You're going to be okay, sweetheart, okay?
Just stay breathing for me.
Can we have that stretcher?
- It's right here. Y'all ready for it?
- The possibility of less people coming in, as sick as they are,
on top of the normal people that come in with heart attacks,
strokes, respiratory stress,
CHF, respiratory failure, COPD, wouldn't be as bad.
We're going to move you over, okay?
- And is someone getting a second?
- One, two, three. Now, you have all these people
that are coming in on top of our already sick population.
- Okay. - And they're just drowning us.
We feel like we're running against the tide.
- I think the first word that comes to mind is "disastrous".
- Put your hand in the stretcher, honey.
Thank you.
- Overwhelming, frightening, disheartening.
Omicron being so much more contagious
has made it really difficult.
With Delta, we'd have a couple of staff out.
This is unlike anything else we've seen.
June 28.
Alright, so I've got a COVID-positive patient
who's been here for 43 hours.
Hey, there.
- It's never been like this, to try to get into a bed.
The first 12 hours, at least,
they had us in a room half of this size.
I think it was a storage closet.
There were about 10 of us, and there was very little staff
that came in now and then to even check on you.
There was no water.
There was no radio or TV to distract you.
They're saying they're going to bring me to an area
where I can get a bed.
This is, you know, where they brought me.
- We are struggling and, at times, failing to take care
of the people who come through the door,
because of lack of staffing, because of lack of space,
because of lack of resources.
Like either I take care of someone in a car
or I don't get to take care of them at all.
Either I take care of them in the waiting room,
or they don't get care at all.
Or they wait 10 hours for care.
You know, we've had people wait 10 or 12 hours to be seen
and, if you're here for an emergency, that's untenable.
- X-ray.
As best you can for me, big breath in.
- It's worse partly because we're seeing more patients.
It's worse partly because the hospital is so full.
It's worse because we don't have staff,
because we've lost so much staff.
- A lot of the people that we see are unvaccinated
or not boosted.
And that's very sad.
It used to make me mad, but it doesn't make me mad anymore.
It's just very disheartening
that we're still in this after so long.
- With Omicron, we've seen this shift now.
I think, the last I heard, we're closer to 50/50,
in terms of fully vaccinated, versus unvaccinated with COVID.
Certainly, the unvaccinated are getting a lot sicker.
That's who's filling up the ICU, for the most part,
and that's also who's dying.
I haven't seen anyone
who's fully vaccinated die of COVID yet.
- Even when we ask patients, "Are you vaccinated"?
"Well, does it matter"?
Yeah, it kind of does.
I'm here day in, day out, extra shifts, over and over,
as are my coworkers.
So I don't know, if there's a next wave,
if I'll mentally or physically or spiritually be able to do it.
But, as of right now, I do know that it's my passion
to take care of people, to get people better.
No gowns?