Page 21 - UPSON Issue 1

Extraordinary Strength
“The teamwork was incredible. We even had nurses from other departments helping us,” she added. “We had to do procedures that we have never had to do before,” ICU nurse Ashley McKneely, RN, BSN said.
Heidi Kneringer, LPN, a nurse on the Special Care Unit, also pitched in to help in the ICU. “My co-workers could tell it was a rough day through my eyes and would encourage me daily,” she said. “We were trusted with our patients and wanted to provide them with the best possible care,” Kneringer added.
Respiratory Therapist, Dana Parker, RRT, mentioned how challenging
COVID-19 was for respiratory therapists. “This is a hard hit respiratory illness where your lungs can shut down. Many people were hit at one time,” she said.“It was difficult seeing so many patients on ventilators and BiPAPS,” she added. “All respiratory therapists would respond to any call on any unit such as ER or ICU,” said Chris Biggs, Respiratory Care Practitioner. “We had to learn how to understand the disease and the right way to treat it,” he added.
Faye Smoot, a CNA on the Special Care floor, didn’t think COVID-19 was going to be as big of a deal as the media was making it out to be. “The further we got into it, I saw how big of a deal it actually
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