Meeting the need
Mar. 11—The healthcare field is a vast collection comprised of many specialty fields. Many of them out of sight until needed, but a necessary and huge part of treating the patients that become family to them.
Radiologists, phlebotomists, physical therapists, wound care specialists and many others see patients and get to know them as human beings. These services happen all over Athens at any given time.
"We see the same patients all the time. We get to know those patients, monthly, quarterly, biannually. We see them pregnant, their families and all the way up," said Alexis Odem, Nurse Supervisor of 17 years at Lakeland Medical Associates.
The way services are offered has changed dramatically by the pandemic. Phlebotomists, doctors, nurses and other staff have to be much more careful. The workers administering the COVID swab and strep tests are in the danger zone as they get close to test and in many cases go to the patients car. If a car visit needs more pressing care, patients are quickly ushered in the back door, treated and taken back out.
"We go to the vehicle and get COVID and strep swabs and we try to get them in and back out to see the doctor. It is really hard to protect yourself when you are swabbing someone and close to them. You are reminded at that point that it could be transferred this way."
Prior to COVID, medical staff walked around minus any special protective gear, a pair of gloves for a blood draw, a mask for the flu. Now Odem said they suit up.
"I think this has made us more aware of just how bugs can be transmitted to us," Odem said. "It is mentally exhausting. We all have families. I have a lot of staff who have young kids. You don't want to see your babies or grand babies sick.
"I would go home, take everything off, shower before I was around them. My family was very concerned at the beginning. My mom called me all the time, asked me how I was feeling and what was going on. Families are worried about us doing what we do. It is such a new virus, you just don't know."
Medical teams are still trying to understand the virus and have expressed difficulty in helping patients to understand something that they are still struggling to learn about themselves.
"The symptoms are everything and anything you can think of," Odem said. "You could have it and not know. You may think it is a sinus headache. You want to give them answers, but can't tell them for certain. It was super frustrating not to have answers."
She said communication can be challenging with the masks, especially for hard of hearing patients, and when someone doesn't wear their mask correctly it makes you ask, 'Will this be the time you contract the virus?'
"Right now, COVID is always in the back of your mind. You would think this far into it, that you would push it back, but you can't, because it is so devastating. Formerly, staff would meet for lunch, or joke to blow off some steam, but even how they support each other and take breaks has had to change.
2020 was supposed to be the year of the nurse, a good year celebrating great women in history such as Florence Nightingale and Linda Richards, the first professionally trained nurse in the United States. The year instead became a nightmare.
"It scared me to death, I honestly thought I would go through my nursing career and not have to deal with something like this. You don't imagine seeing us in Athens, Texas fully geared up walking through a parking lot trying to take care of patients. That would have been fine. You see this in other countries on TV. I was really scared. It was a really big deal."
Home health care workers walked right into peoples homes daily taking care of them. Each day stepping into potentially contaminated environments.
"Home health was affected tremendously. If their patient is sick or if you don't know they have COVID, that had to be hard," Odem said.
She said all of the medical team are giving their best and that the Citizen of the Year award was a deserved honor.
"All of us deserve it. We are giving it 110% right now. We want to take care of you. We are doing our best. Please give all healthcare providers some grace."
