‘It’s been a journey’: El Paso respiratory therapist on the front lines in NYC

EL PASO, Texas -- Doctors and nurses from around the country, including the Borderland, are working on the front lines in the epicenter for the coronavirus pandemic in the United States: New York City.

But respiratory therapists are also hard at work.

Native El Pasoan Gregorio Escalante, a respiratory therapist at Las Palmas Medical Center made his way to New York City three weeks ago to help patients suffering from coronavirus.

The New Mexico State University graduate told ABC-7 he always knew he wanted to work in the medical field to help those in need.

“It’s been a journey over here seeing what Covid-19 really looks like from patient to patient," Escalante said. "Their lungs are really whited out meaning that not too much oxygen is going into their lungs and I’ve been able to follow these patients from the ER until they're in the critical units.” 

Respiratory therapists monitor patients breathing, something Covid-19 impacts tremendously.

“Unfortunately, most of the patients that I’ve seen get intubated, they don’t really seem to make it," Escalante said. "It’s really hard to take these patients off their support after their lungs have taken that much of a big impact.”

Escalante said when he first arrived, the pandemic hit New York City hard -- using transport ventilators, only meant to use when transporting patients to the hospital, in order to meet the demand for patients who needed them.

Trailers are even being used as makeshift morgues. "The morgues are not built to have that many patients, so these trailers, what they're doing is just placing them patients in there and tagging them up with their names,” Escalante said.

However, things are starting to look up in New York state, Escalante said. According to ABC News, several states on the east coast including New York are working on a supply chain to provide health care workers with more personal protective equipment. Residents are also allowed to visit parks as long as they are following social distancing guidelines.

As cases in El Paso continue to rise, Escalante told ABC-7 he hopes El Pasoans and people across the borderland take the right precautions.

"After seeing it first hand it does make a difference,” Escalante said.