Lexington nurse working in a COVID-19 unit talks about challenges at work and home – WKYT

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - We hear every day about healthcare workers on the front lines, But what is it really like for those working inside the COVID-19 units at a hospital?

Joseph Fields has been working at Baptist Health Lexington for 11 years and as a nurse for the last two. But, not even that decade of experience could prepare him for the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think the first year I started there H1N1 was big, but nothing compared to this," Fields said.

He has to suit up at the beginning of every shift.

"So as soon as we get on our unit, we get a mask and hospital scrubs," Fields said. "And then we get our helmet and our N95 and then we go change."

It's a job that has always been about taking care of people. But, now that those people are fighting for their lives alone, Fields said patient care takes on a whole new meaning.

"The hardest thing right now is with having to wear all the PPE, people can't see our faces and they're intubated and sedated and they are terrified," Fields said. "That's why we're there though, we act as their family when they're not there, and we really try to spend as much time as we can with every patient."

And when his shift is done, the challenges follow him home as he does what he can to disinfect from head to toe to limit exposure risk to his roommates.

"I also try to like just keep it all contained, all together, so I don't infect anybody else," Fields said. "I live with two other people so it's definitely a little bit trying right now."

Because of his inside look at how this virus affects families, he has a message for those not following social distancing guidelines on the outside.

"Looking at my patients in the ICU, I just don't want that to be my relative, and I don't want that to be somebody else's relative," Fields said. "So just the best advice is to stay at home and wash your hands man, the best thing you can do."

Fields said they aren't overrun with patients right now, but Baptist Health has been proactive in closing non-essential units to make room for more COVID-19 patients.

Visit link:

Lexington nurse working in a COVID-19 unit talks about challenges at work and home - WKYT