Items

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  2020-10-08

  "The Nightmarish Challenge of Trying to Get an Abortion in a Pandemic"

  The article describes the recent challenges to obtaining an abortion in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic due to several states attempting to add further restrictions on abortion rights. It is important to understand that while it was already difficult for many to obtain abortions to begin with, the pandemic has added even more challenges for those seeking reproductive healthcare as well as more opportunities for anti-choice lawmakers to restrict abortion care.
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  2020-04-03

  Ms. Jones COVID Experience

  Ms. Jones had Alzheimer’s and was living with others like her prior to the pandemic. When she was isolated because of the pandemic she became anxious and confused thus causing her meds to be increased. She was found on the floor with serious injuries due to a decrease of nursing oversight. Her family did not want to cause her anymore stress so moved her to a hospice house so they could visit and she died a week later.
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  2020-11-02

  Election Day Feelings 2020

  As many Americans hit the polls on Election Day 2020, many are left with uneasy feelings of anxiety and depression. There is so much at stake with this presidential election, including decisions about healthcare, women’s rights, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Although election day is on November 3rd, it could be days before a president is chosen due to the amount of mail in ballots casted by voters. Therefore, this election day fear and anxiety could hover over many nervous Americans for days to come. With all the looming negativity, it is best to remember to keep calm and reach out to those closest for support during this very difficult time.
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  2020-08-08

  HMH Nurses Working 12-hour Shifts during COVID

  This is a news article telling how nurses since March 20, 2020 nurses have had had their hands full with covid patients. On a typical day, they have between five to eight patients. Interviewed was Kristie Polly, an ICU nurse. She says she tries to provide them with the best of care especially since the patient is not able to be with family during their stay. She wants the community to know that during their time in the hospital goes above and beyond for the patient in the absence of family and does their best to keep the family informed of the patient's progress or connect the patient and family virtually with iPads. The hospital and staff do not want the patient to feel alone. Having seen firsthand the effects of the virus she stresses the importance to the community of wearing face masks, hand washing, and social distancing. The staff has adapted to the pandemic in their guidelines and PPE, testing, and treatment. In addition to caring for their patients, the staff is mindful to take care of themselves so that they may take care of their patients. Nathan Ernst, the Intensive Care manager said that they are honored to provide care to the community and will continue to do everything possible to give the best care.
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  2020-10-08

  COVID-19 in Lebanon

  An article outlining the COVID-19 situation in Lebanon and how it is straining the already fragile healthcare system.
• 2020-04-10

  Getting Health Care through the Covid Madness

  At the beginning of 2020, I started to experience a dull, nagging pain in my lower right abdomen. Didn't think too much about it at first, but it kept showing up and then it didn't go away. I made an appointment to get it checked out and was told, "Well, I don't know what it is, so we'll get an ultrasound". Got an ultrasound and nothing was found. Next, I went to the OBGYN and received a full pelvic exam. Was told, "Well, everything looks good, just walk more and drink fluids". This took about a month to see two separate doctors and receive the ultrasounds. The pain persisted and the symptoms got worse. It wasn't just a dull ache, but now cramping, exhaustion, trouble with bowel movements, and the pain moved north to my upper right side, under my ribs and into my back. I was worried and scared. I was referred to a Gastroenterologist and had to wait two months. Two months with terrible symptoms. When I finally got in to see my GI, she seemed positive and wanted to get things moving along. I got blood tests done and when they came back, it showed that I had high TG levels for gluten. In other words, signs for Celiac Disease. To diagnose it, an upper endoscopy with biopsy of my intestines was needed. Another month of waiting. A week before my scheduled endoscopy, the hospital called and cancelled my appointment because of Covid-19. I was furious. They were not accepting patients and most all procedures were stopped. Don't get me wrong, I take Covid seriously and I do my best to social distance, I wear my mask everywhere, and I'm crazy about sanitizing, but I was so angry that my extremely important procedure was cancelled. At this point, the symptoms were agonizing and I was forced to wait. After a couple weeks I emailed my doctor and explained to her that things were getting worse and I didn't know what to do at this point or how to take care of my body. I got a call within a week and was told that my case was reviewed and that an endoscopy would be scheduled for me. Huzzah! About two weeks after that I finally got my diagnosis, and yep, I have Celiac Disease. Trying to figure out what was wrong with my body during Covid was a nightmare. I only shared the basics of what happened, but there was a lot of pain, tears, and fear. If it was something more serious that needed more immediate help I would have been screwed. I am still dealing with my disease and I still have my bad days. I unfortunately am still unable to go see my doctor as it is all online which makes it feel so impersonal. For all those having to schedule appointments and see doctors, good luck!
• 2020-03-23

  Mystery Virus

  In late March of 2020, I came down with a terrible migraine. Now, I get migraines a lot, at least once a week, but they usually go away with some naproxen or a nap conveniently timed around when it would be a more responsible decision for me to be doing my homework instead of sleeping. This migraine lasted for a full week. Standing up made my vision go blurry, and any light or noise would cause intense throbbing behind my eyes. It felt like my brain was swelling up and knocking on my skull walls begging to be released from my head. I spent most of my time splayed out on the living room floor covered in blankets with ice packs propped up around my head and neck to try to soothe the pain. I scheduled a tele-health visit with my doctor and she told me since migraines aren’t uncommon for me that I should just wait it out and drink lots of fluids, so I waited, but then I caught some mysterious virus which seemed to have a personal vendetta against my tonsils. My tonsils got so huge. They swelled up so much that even drinking became difficult, and very quickly a thick film of white gunk started to grow all over the back of my throat. I had a fever, chills, and a sore throat. Usually at that point I would go into the doctor’s office and get a strep swab, but this was during the second week of full lockdown in the US and doctors were not seeing patients in person. After multiple attempts to send my doctor precariously-angled photos of the back of my throat, they decided that if after a few more days of drinking fluids I still felt sick, I needed to go to the ER simply because it was the only place that was open in town and they could give me some tests. Going to the ER during the first wave of COVID-19 was absolutely terrifying. The first thing I saw when I pulled into the parking lot was the abundance of signs listing the symptoms of COVID-19. There were multiple entrances, one for people who had no symptoms, and a literal shipping container full of testing materials and staff in extensive PPE for those who did. I was just there for a strep test and someone to make sure I didn’t have mono or meningitis, so I went through the normal entrance. After triage, two nurses fully dressed in hazmat suits came up to me. They told me that since I had had a fever within the past few days, I had to be brought to the COVID-19 wing of the hospital. They took me outside to a golf cart where another hazmat suit-wearing driver drove me down to the basement level of the hospital that had not been part of the hospital in years but reopened for the sake of coronavirus. It honestly seemed like the doctors and nurses were bored and had nothing else to do because over the next few hours I had about ten random medical staff come poke and prod at me in my room. They took blood samples, shone lights into my eyes, and stuck probably the longest swab I have ever seen up my nose to tickle my brain for any COVID-19 particles. Hospitals are scary places to me and being surrounded by nurses and doctors decked out in layers of wearable plastic made me feel even more uneasy. I knew they were being safe, but it was difficult to stay calm when I couldn’t see the faces of the people I while being treated by. Eventually, they decided I had an intractable migraine along with something else and gave me shots of sumatriptan which made me drowsy. All of the tests came back negative and I was told to go home and, once more, drink lots of fluids. After another week on the couch and endless cups of tea, my mysteriously giant tonsils finally calmed down and my migraine decided it was bored of torturing me. I am extremely grateful that I did not have COVID-19, but it was an incredibly strange experience to have to receive relatively serious healthcare unrelated to COVID-19 during the pandemic. Even more than that though, I am so grateful for the healthcare workers that put their lives at risk for people in need every single day.
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  2020-08

  COVID-19 AND THE ESCALATING MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS AMONG BIPOC AND IMMIGRANTS

  The purpose of “COVID-19 and the Escalating Mental Health Crisis among BIPOC and Immigrants” is to analyze the already existing socioeconomic conditions in BIPOC and immigrant communities that perpetuate mental health stigma and are also causes for the rising mental health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research project aims to investigate generational trauma and its correlation to the pressurizing notion of the ‘essential worker,’ how the silence of trauma creates stigma, and the lack of representation and affordable mental health resources for low-income BIPOC and immigrants.
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  2020-04-18

  A Tutti Voi...Grazie

  this is a photograph of a mural on a hospital wall in Brescia, Italy where it translates to “To you all….Thanks.” It is another piece of art that reminds us that we are all in this together and to thank our healthcare workers. I think as time goes on we tend to get sick of hearing about the pandemic and Covid-19 and go about our daily lives. We as a society often times need reminders and I think art provides that in an appealing and beautiful way. A giant graffiti depicting medical staff holding a figure shaped as a boot representing Italy and reading " To you all… Thanks", is painted on a side of the Brescia hospital, Italy, Monday, March 16, 2020.
• 
  2020-07-29

  Paint The Void: Health Care Workers & Art

  Health Care workers partnered with the Paint the Void project to bring community, life, hope, art and culture to the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal of this partnership was to create a project to say "thank you for sheltering in place" and "thank you for supporting us" to the community on behalf of San Francisco's essential workers. Paint the Void has created over 91 murals across San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. This specific mural tells the story of how interconnected people are and how an act of kindness has the ability to improve life conditions for the entire community. The title of the mural is "How we care shapes who we are." The spirit of community is represented through this specific mural and the Paint the Void initiative.
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  2020-04-28

  New Norms in the Healthcare Environment

  As the spread of Covid grew larger and larger, masks and face shields became the new norm at the hospital. New precautions included temperature checks at the entrances, reuse of PPE, and a completely new hospital environment. Whole wings of the hospital previously dedicated to elective surgeries were cleared out preparing for the surge. Patients were not allowed visitors and when they needed to see a friendly face the most, all they were able to see was our eyes.
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  2020-07-26

  Pandemic Pods? The Return of Schooling in America

  This pandemic has opened the eyes of millions of Americans, including mine, when it came to questioning the necessity of a traditional schooling system. The bridge between political parties reflects various differing opinions on what parents feel the best way to re-enroll back their kids into school. The article I found interested me as it mentioned that families are looking into the idea of creating small groups with local children called “pods” which would help [pay for private tutors or teachers. However this method may require paying thousands of dollars in order to fund tutors to teach these localized groups of students. It is still unsafe in many institutions which thousands of children pass by one another on a daily basis which could lead to mass spread of the virus if even a couple of students have contracted the virus. This article reflects the outcome of an already declining school system affected with a worldwide pandemic. This article gives us a way of looking at how people are affected by and making alternatives to a failing and problematic system of education due to current health safety requirements. This post makes me question whether to innovate or destroy the system? Everything seems to be fluid and unpredictable due to the varying status of the nation day to day. Makes me question, who is responsible for the safety of students and children to be upheld? How does one monitor the level of safety and how will well being be ensured?
• 
  03/30/2020

  Jeannie Lehew Oral History 2020/03/30

  [written by curator/transcriptionist] Edward and Jeannie Lehew, residents of Independence, Kentucky, have been married for 67 years. Interviewed by their granddaughter, Amanda, she talks with them about Covid-19, what they know about it, government response, how it has or will change society, and how it compares to other crises they’ve each faced. Jeannie compares it to a string of family deaths and Edward to his time as a small child during the Great Depression. They also talk about face masks.
• 
  2020

  Political Cartoon, Man Protesting Stay-at-Home Orders Before/After

  This cartoon shows a man fighting against government mandated stay-at-home orders. It then shows him in the hospital with a nurse caring for him.
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  2020-05-30

  Reopening Surprises

  As states rushed to reopen, there were multiple warning signals put up by scientists and concerned citizens about the unforeseen consequences. There was a reassurance by politicans and those in positions of power that things would be handled properly, and that the idea of a second wave was a ridiculous thought. As states have reopened, cases have surged, and I don't think that I am the only that is not surprised.
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  2020-05-27

  Hospital Beds in the City

  While coronavirus is a horror unique to itself, there are also ripple effects caused by the stress that it is putting on the healthcare system. This manifests itself in hospitals being unable to cope with regular, daily issues; for Baltimore, this is gunshot victims that are either occupying beds that could be used by coronavirus victims, or vice versa.
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  2020-05-20

  African Americans and COVID-19

  The uploaded picture is African Americans waiting in line for distributions of food and mask in New York. It is just one of the many pictures and art forms describing the disproportions effects of COVID-19 on communities of color. It has been stated that people of color are becoming infected and dying of COVID-19 at high rates than those that are white. It is important to be made aware of this as it could be the result of systematic racism that is embedded in the access to healthcare and resources as well as the living conditions compared to white folks.
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  2020-05-29

  Healing Hands Community Clinic Response to COVID-19

  Sharon Annesley of Blanchard, Oklahoma tells the story of how her rural church created a non-profit community clinic. She also details how this small rural clinic adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her text document story chronicles how the clinic attempted virtual visits but was limited by technological access. Sharon details that clinic patients often elderly or generally without resources, had limited internet access which produced new obstacles for patients of the clinic. She also articulates the ways the clinic attempted to address these difficulties as they wait to reopen the clinic to the public in June. Text document authored by Sharon Annesley, Member of New Beginnings Church - Blanchard. The story is titled under the heading "HEALING HANDS COMMUNITY CLINIC RESPONSE TO COVID-19" (May 29, 2020) The story features photographs of the community clinic.
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  2020-04-04

  NHS(uperheroes)

  A drawn depiction of a nurse adapting the NHS (National Health Service) logo.
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  2020-03-14

  President Trump's doctor releases a statement saying that the President has tested negative for CoVid-19

  The President was tested for CoVid-19 after coming into contact with three people at his Mar-a-Lago resort who had tested positive for it