Items

2020-03-15

Together and Apart

Flagstaff AZ. My husband was an occupational therapist who regularly worked in the ICU at Flagstaff Medical Center. I remember the week after the lockdown started (March 15th or so) the Covid-19 numbers were doubling every week at FMC. My husband started changing out of his scrubs and shoes in the garage. I was a speech therapist with the school district and we were all asked to stay home, which was good because I have two school-aged children. As the Covid numbers started to skyrocket in our region due to a devastating outbreak on the Navajo nation, my husband became more and more worried about bringing the virus home since there was a shortage of PPE. When it was announced that my own job would go remote and I would need to start scheduling teletherapy sessions with my students, we decided it would be better for me and the kids to go live with my mom and dad in Tempe for a few weeks. My mom is a retired teacher and offered to teach my kids while I worked with my students online. The kids loved having grandma be their teacher. I had to learn how to work with preschoolers with disabilities over Zoom, which is no easy task! Meanwhile, my husband was providing us updates; when he finally got fitted for a tyvek suit was a happy day because he could spend all day in it helping patients. The doctors were trying new therapies with patients every week, but mostly he saw many people seem to get better and then take unexpected deadly turns. Treating isolated, scared patients while feeling helpless to know what to do was taking a toll on everyone at the hospital. The kids and I spent 7 weeks with my mom, face-timing him every night. Finally, as the school-year came to a close, we were able to reunite. I captured the moment we got home and my husband hugged my 5 year old son. We were so lucky; no one in the family had gotten sick so far despite my husband being in close proximity to patients each day. Over the summer and into the next school year we were hoping for some normalcy to return but it was nothing but adapting to change. The kids made friends with the neighbors down the street not by playing in the front yard, but by yelling greetings over the fence. When they started school in the fall we organized a "pod" with other families whose children were in the same classes as ours at DeMiguel elementary. We had four kindergarteners and three 2nd graders all doing school over Zoom at the same time, which was not easy for the parents who had to oversee them (my husband had the honor at least once a week), but the kids really benefitted from having friends to play with during breaks. We saw them become more motivated to participate and happier overall. I started seeing some students in-person for the first time at the school on a very limited basis. I wore clear PPE products so my students could see my mouth. The kids didn't go back to in-person school until about a year after the lockdown (Spring 2021). As the school year ended, the wildest school year of our lives, things did start to seem normal again, but we ended up leaving Flagstaff for Tucson due to soaring high home prices and my husband needing a fresh start away from the memories of the early pandemic.

09/24/2020

Christina Lefebvre and Lynne Goltra Oral History, 2020/09/24

An interview with a Massachusetts General Hospital OBGYN detailing the struggles of COVID and how the medical community has responded to the pandemic.

05/06/2021

Liz Haynes, Oral History, 2021/04/21

Liz Haynes discusses her life pre-COVID and how she has been affected during COVID as a cancer survivor. She talks about her love of travel and hopefully future plans, politics (local and federal), and ends with positive outlook for the future.

2020-12-14

Public Health Systems Tension with the Government during COVID-19 Pandemic

2020-11-24

Conditions in Hospitals

An article from the Globe and Mail about the conditions hospitals workers experience.

2020-12-13

Nunavut Health Facilities Map

A Map showing all the active health facilities in Nunavut

2020-11-14

Saskatoon ICUs maxed out

This is an article interviewing Dr. Susan Shaw, the Chief Medical Officer. She is discussing the burdening of the medical system during the second wave.

2020-12-09

Interview with Toronto Nurses

A six minute video about the hardships of being a nurse during the COVID pandemic.

2020-03-25

At least 2 Toronto hospitals begin rationing protective gear as COVID-19 crisis deepens

Early news article about rationing PPE.

2020-10-19

"It's very scary at WGH right now," says employee

This is a news article about the conditions at the Whitehorse General Hospital. The article highlights the staffing and shortage issues that are causing unsafe conditions in the hospital.

2020-04-03

Inside a COVID-19 Unit

Video interviewing staff in a Sunnybrook COVID unit. The staff talk about the dedication of the team and the need to rely on one another for support and guidance.

2020-04-08

Sunnybrook is re-processing N95 masks, should the need for use arise

Sunnybrook Hospital began researching how to sterilize masks in April 2020 as the PPE shortages had become so severe. In the video, Dr. Jerome Leis explains the research.

06/02/2020

Christopher Colwell Oral History, 2020/06/02

Interview with Dr Christopher Colwell, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Zuckerberg, San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center by interviewer Christina Lefebvre. Dr. Colwell speaks about the changes in his daily work activity and the obstacles of hospitals to respond to protests and a pandemic. He also shares his thoughts on how the pandemic has altered the practices and routines of medical facilities to maintain safety for patients and healthcare workers.

2020-06-30

California Coronavirus Transfers

In Southern California, the coronavirus has particularly been vicious along the border area. Hospitals in the area are struggling, as noted in the tweet. This has led to an effort to outsource care wherever there is space; some patients are being taken as far North as San Francisco. This item was added TAGS v6.1.9.1. I originally searched under the hashtag #california. Within that search, I have chosen to add the following tweet because it describes severe medical toll that has been taken on hospitals across the border area. Link to article in tweet: (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/07/us/coronavirus-border-mexico-california-el-centro.html)

2020-06-15

Workers Call for the Resignation of Moises Bailon

The way that worker safety and funding is handled is always an issue for government run health organization, and in a pandemic it is all the more important. In Oaxaca, at the IMSS workers have called for the resignation of their director, Moisés Sidharta Bailón Jiménez, because of improper handling of both internal affairs and funds during the pandemic.

0007-04-04

Initial closure of all Hospitals and Aged Care Facilities

The decision to close hospitals to visitors was a step taken to ensure the safety and health of staff, immunodeficient and vulnerable members of our community. Both closures impacted my ability to visit family members and while this was difficult, I understood the importance of introducing these measures given the circumstances of the pandemic. And additionally, appreciated that in response to these changes, the facilities introduced various means of staying connected with loved ones.

2020-03-31

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