New Orleans nurses arrive in Kansas City to help with surge in COVID hospitalizations here
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV/KSMO) — Six nurses from Tulane University arrived at Research Medical Center Friday evening, greeted by a line of local nurses cheering.
The term “pay it forward” was hard to avoid.
New Orleans was one of the epicenters in the early stages of the pandemic. Back then, it was nurses from Research Medical Center coming to their rescue.
To be clear, six nurses is hardly a massive influx of staffing assistance at a hospital that already has hundreds of nurses, but some say every extra hand helps, and the biggest help might be with morale.
“I felt burned out and feeling like there’s no hope and wondering if this will ever come to an end,” said Research Medical Center nurse Felicia Carlson.
It was March 13th when Research got its first COVID-19 patient. Friday marked exactly six months of caring for that vulnerable patient population.
“These nurses are deployed specifically for Research Medical Center given that we serve as the hub for the COVID patient population in the region,’ said Ashley McClellan, President and CEO of Research Medical Center.
In March and April, Research sent some of their nurses to New Orleans. Hospital conditions were overwhelming there at the time. The Tulane Medical Center nurses are returning the favor now that the tables are turned.
A look at the increase in hospitalizations by state shows just how significantly. Here is the percent increase over the past 14 days, as of Thursday, according to the New York Times COVID Tracking Project:
Louisiana: up 8%
Missouri: up 43%
Kansas: up 68%
“If people don’t take this seriously, we all worry about what the capabilities are going to be,” said Christine Hamele, the spokeswoman for HCA Midwest, the hospital group that owns Research Medical Center.
The Chief Medical Officer at Research Medical Center, Dr. Olevia Pitts, said the hospital is not at capacity yet, but nurses are stressed.
“We are a family. With our families, you don’t just wait until they are in crisis mode, you’re there to support,” Pitts said.
“Having these nurses come in and say, you know, ‘We’ve got your back, we’re here, tell us what you need us to do, use us as your team,’ it’s incredible,” echoed Carlson.
What would really lighten the workload, though, would be actions outside the hospital to prevent things from getting worse.
“Help them out. Give them a break. We don’t want to see you at the hospital unless it’s to have a baby,” Hamele stressed. “When you go to pass the mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving, and you don’t know that you’re also passing COVID to grandma, that’s why we’re saying please do not have the large holiday gatherings.”
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