Items

• 
  04/15/2020

  Christine De Ocampo Oral History, 2020/04/15

• 
  11/27/2021

  Rebecca Ferber Oral HIstory, 2021/11/27

  Rebecca Lynn Ferber is a resident of Oronoco, MN, and currently works for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester as a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist). In this interview, Rebecca talks about how COVID has affected her job as a CRNA and Mayo Clinic as a whole as well as a mom and wife. She also talks about how it has affected her family and friends and how some of her relationships have been strained because of different views on COVID. She touches on how it not only affects people's physical health but mental health as well and gives some advice for future generations.
• 
  12/03/2021

  Sarah Benthein Oral History, 2021/12/03

  Sarah Benthein was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, and currently resides in San Diego, California working as a travel nurse. Being that she has been working as a nurse, Sarah has been able to see firsthand how the health system has been affected, and changed by the pandemic, and her perspective will give individuals a first-hand account of many of these changes. Throughout much of this interview, Sarah discusses many of the different ways in which Covid 19, including such things as travel, working, and recreational activities. She shares how restrictions in San Diego have been taken much more seriously than in Wisconsin, and because of that, her life has changed dramatically from what it was prior to Covid 19 occurring. Sarah also reflects on how drastically travel changed in regards to Covid, especially owing to how far from home she lives.
• 
  2020-08-06

  Knock Knock

  During the summer of 2020 I was taken from my current unit (where I work as a nurse) back to the ICU to care for the overflowing patients. The ICU is a very noisy place, but one noise that was new was the knocking. To go into a COVID patient's room you have to put on booties, a full length gown, two pairs of gloves, an N95 mask and a surgical mask along with eye protection. It is a lengthy process so once you are in the room you don't leave until all tasks are complete. So if you need something when you’re in there you would knock on the glass doors of the patient's room and one of the helper nurses would come and read what you had written on the door in a marker and get the items for you. It was so quite in the rooms, no families were allowed so it was you, the machines and the patient. It was so hot you could feel the sweat dripping down your back and pooling in the arms of your gown. It was a very isolating feeling, usually there are lots of hands and people in your rooms with you to help or just to chat but not during COVID. The knock-knock could be heard all down the hall. It reminds me of the isolation we all experienced during this time and also how resilient we are and how helpful nurses are to each other. Nursing is a team sport. It is a sound and an experience I will never forget.
• 
  2022-05-03

  Eranga Narangoda Oral History, 2022/05/03

  It provides the pandemic perspective of Dr. Eranga Narangoda, a practitioner of internal medicine specializing in infectious disease, as he served on the front lines of Sri Lanka's COVID response.
• 
  2020-03-20

  Eddie Case Oral History, 2022/03/07

  [curator's note] I recorded this interview at the Arizona Historical Society's 2nd Annual Covid Memorial Event at the Arizona Heritage Center. Eddie spoke about his experience as one of the first cases of Covid in Arizona, and his illness and long recovery. He views his story as a blessing.
• 
  08/21/2020

  Caroline Birks Brown Oral History, 2020/05/31

  In this interview conducted by Christina Lefebvre, Dr Caroline Birks Brown describes the drastic changes she saw while working in a hospital. She discusses patient care, the hospitals rapid response to converting floors to ICUs, and the way the hospital delt with staffing enough nurses to provide sufficient care to patients. She discusses how Spanish speaking doctors and nurses were asked to volunteer to work to avoid depersonalization and how other branches, like social workers, stepped up to provide the best care possible under the circumstances. Dr Caroline also touches on the possibility of young people getting covid and her thoughts on the patterns of the groups of people getting sick. She reenforces her appreciation of nurses and also discusses the politicization of the virus. The interview ends with her thoughts on what could have been done differently, politically and socially, to control the spread of the virus. As a mother, she talks about distanced learning and its effects on children and the importance of socialization. The last topic is about lessons she hopes we have learned.
• 
  04/30/2021

  Anonymous Oral History, 2021/04/16

  C19OH
• 
  2020-04-02

  Banner Health prepares for influx of patients amid COVID-19 pandemic

  A press release from Banner Health announcing that they are "working diligently and deliberately to make sure we are best prepared to handle an influx of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are monitoring capacity, resources and staffing in real-time, making adjustments to our emergency operations, when needed."
• 
  12/02/2020

  COVID-19 Dec. 2, 2020 press conference

  Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer at Banner Health, provides a system-wide update on Banner's response to the COVID-19 surges in many of the states it serves.
• 
  12/23/2021

  COVID-19 Dec. 23, 2020 press conference

  Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief medical officer of Banner Health, provides an update about how the six-state healthcare system is handling teh COVID-19 surge.
• 
  01/12/2021

  COVID-19 Jan. 13, 2021 press conference

  Marjorie Bessel, MD and other metro Phoenix health leaders discuss how their health systems are handling the challenges of Arizona's record number of cases.
• 
  01/27/2021

  COVID-19 Jan. 27, 2021 press conference

  Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief medical officer of Banner Health, talks about the need for vaccination and social distancing as Arizona experiences slightly fewer COVID-19 cases.
• 
  02/03/2021

  COVID-19 Feb. 3, 2021 press conference

  Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer of Banner Health, talks about how Banner is handling with the COVID-19 pandemic and that the health system has vaccinated more than 125,000 people
• 
  2021-07-22

  Hospital staff charging $21,000 for an ICU Hospital Bed

  Hospital beds and medical supplies face enormous pressure with the ongoing pandemic. This article indicates that hospital staff were charging over $21,000 for an ICU hospital bed, a scheme that was broken up by the Peruvian police. If one hospital has been caught, how rampant could this practice be? Also, how can the average Peruvian afford such astronomical prices? The fees and the fact that people paid them show the disparity in healthcare access between Peruvians of means and those without.
• 
  2020-06-30

  "We're leaving the hospital sometimes in tears": Arizona doctors worry as ICUs fill

  (PHOENIX) -- Hospitals in Arizona are seeing an intense wave of new coronavirus cases, doctors at the Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix told ABC News on Monday, and it is filling up their intensive care units and pushing their nurses to the brink.
• 
  2020-06-05

  Banner Health warns COVID-19 trend could overload Arizona hospitals

  Banner Health Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Marjorie Bessel told media Friday that intensive care units in Arizona were very busy.
• 
  2021-01-06

  When lungs fail

  I wish I had a sound of the oxygen concentrator my mom was on for a full month, but at the same time I'm glad that I don't. After spending 8 days in the ICU due to COVID, my mom was finally sent home only because the hospitals were full in the Fort Worth area, and there were other people much more sick than her. In a normal year, she would have been in there at least another week or two, but they got her a concentrator and sent her home to be taken care of by my Dad, sister, and me. The sound the small motor made, producing the oxygen my mom's lungs weren't capable of getting. The high-pitched beeps that sounded when the battery was low, or if the cannula in her nose wasn't properly placed on her face--all of it is probably permanently etched in my memory. The sound that I've submitted here is an excerpt of what a nebulizer sounds like when it's turned on. In addition to the sound of the oxygen concentrator, we'd hear this sound at least twice daily as my mom inhaled her lung medications with the nebulizer, accompanied by a lot of coughing as she recovered fully. I'm grateful that she recovered and is still doing well, but I don't think I'll ever be able to hear a sound like this without remembering what the month of January was like this year for our family.
• 
  2021-05-03

  ICU Change.org Petition during COVID

  I’m in a mom group on Facebook where this was shared. The woman who began the petition outlines her struggle with her husband’s traumatic workplace injury and how their lives and his recovery is impacted by the ICU’s COVID rules. There are also many comments by petition signers who believe COVID restrictions do more harm than good.
• 
  2021-01-17

  Bay Area firefighter paramedic deployed to SoCal hospital describes COVID-19 situation

  MARIN, Calif. (KGO) -- As COVID-19 cases surge, Bay Area firefighters are getting deployed to hospitals across the state. Bob Craft, a firefighter paramedic from the Central Marin Fire Department is working the nightshift. Two hours into his shift, he intubated a patient in the emergency department who arrived to the hospital with stroke like symptoms and prepped a COVID-19 patient for their flip onto their stomach for the rest of the night. "It's the gamut from really regular people coming to the emergency department to people on ventilators on the ICU who are on the COVID ward," said craft.
• 
  2021-02-15

  One of my COVID-19 Case Investigations Experiences

  I work as a medical investigator for my county, and I'm primarily tasked with asking detailed medical interviews and surveys of local patients (cases) who have recently tested positive for COVID-19. The second call I wanted to share regards an elderly case who had been admitted to the ICU shortly before I spoke with her. Her COVID-19 infection began approximately six weeks before our call, and she had long since recovered. Her husband, however, had not. He passed away in a local hospital, and she had only recently begun adjusting to her new life without him. She described him as the kindest man she had ever known, and stopped the interview several times to share heartbreaking stories of the wonderful things he had done for her and their family over more than six decades of marriage. She explained she had fallen in her backyard, broken her hip, and laid in the cold rain for about two hours before anyone found her. That's what landed her in ICU, NOT a COVID infection. She cried several times during our two-hour call, and I occasionally joined her. She explained that she had no COVID-19 symptoms, but still tested positive when the hospital administered their required test. I explained shedding and what that meant for her circumstances, which was the first time she remembered having been told that information. As she had not been contacted before to complete the survey, she graciously agreed to speak with me long enough to do so, all the while laid-up in ICU with a broken hip and awaiting a very unknown future. Among her greatest hopes that day was to make it through surgery well enough to go home to her son's gourmet cooking. She hadn't seen anyone but medical staff since her admit as the hospital disallowed visitors at that time. After we disconnected, I sent a Get Well gift to her hospital. She spoke several times of her Christian faith and belief in her husband's salvation, so I had a carved wood angel sent to her room from the hospital gift shop. We never spoke again, but I hope she understands how much she helped me that day by letting me help her in some small way.
• 2021-02-24

  The Coronavirus Affects Everyone

  I know that the Coronavirus has impacted everyone’s lives in their own way. However, I never thought that Coronavirus would impact my family and me in the way that it has. My dad was a very healthy, active person with a strong immune system who hardly ever got sick. Then, one night out of the blue, he got a high fever and body aches. My mom and I assumed it was just the flu and that it would pass. Although after a week of him being sick, he began having severe breathing problems and the ambulance came to take him to the hospital where he was later admitted that night. Due to high precautions, the hospital wasn’t allowing any visitors, and we couldn’t even send cards or flowers. After a few days, we heard from the doctor that he tested positive for Covid-19. It was an absolute shock. My mind was in shambles and I couldn’t grasp the reality of what was happening. They started him on an experimental treatment immediately. Unfortunately, my dad was always too weak to talk on the phone or text, so we barely had any contact with him and only got information once every afternoon when the doctors called with an update. We patiently waited torturous weeks to hopefully hear of some recovery, but the treatment exhibited no improvement and his oxygen levels continued to decline. Then, on April 6th, we got a call from the hospital saying that his inflammation levels in his lungs were rapidly rising and the medications weren’t helping. They were going to put him on a ventilator, but the doctors didn’t seem hopeful that he would be able to come off it. They gave us his hospital room phone number so we could talk to him and give him any hope we had to offer. From the very few words we got out of him during the call, he told me that he was in pain and no matter how hard he tried to get his body to fight back, the virus was just too strong. That was easily the hardest day of my life. I felt like I was going to lose my dad forever without having the chance to say goodbye. Having to comprehend the fact that I may never get to see or hug my dad was absolutely heart-wrenching. Suddenly, after weeks of prayers and different medications, his body was finally responding to the treatment. The feeling I felt when I heard those words was something I couldn’t and cannot explain. Within about a week, his fever went down, and his lungs were starting to heal. It was a miracle. We couldn’t believe how quickly he was progressing. The doctors did one final Covid-19 test, and he finally came back negative. Soon after that, he was discharged and finished recovering at home. Currently, he seems to be doing much better, but he still has a long road of recovery ahead.
• 2021-01-27

  Losing Grandma

  A week and a half ago was my grandmother's 90th birthday. I shared here about our family's disappointment at not getting to have a big party and instead visiting her at her window. Now she's in the ER, awaiting a transfer to hospice. It doesn't seem to be COVID, although the tests aren't back yet. No one knows what happened or why. There are no ICU beds available and resources in general are limited to investigate why a 90 year old woman who was fine 12 hours earlier is now unresponsive and on a ventilator. No one can go visit her. We're not sure if we will be able to visit her at the hospice. Grandma has had health scares before but nothing like this. Before we would be coordinating visitors and making sure someone was by to see her everyday, even if she was unconscious. Now we’re limited to the family group text as my aunt follows up with doctors by phone and relays information to the rest of us. She’s pulled through before but this time feels different. The doctors are all stretched so thin and resources are so limited that all the odds are against her. I used to take Grandma out at least once or twice a month. We’d go to a movie or just lunch. Maybe run some errands. I haven’t seen her without a window between us in nearly a year. I’m probably never going to get to hug her again.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-12-03

  Surreal Photograph of Reality

  I saw this on Twitter and it made my stomach lurch and turn.
• 
  2020-07-12

  California becomes the second state with more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases

  California became the second state to reach one million known COVID-19 cases on Thursday. On Wednesday, Texas became the first state to reach this milestone. The US in total has surpassed 10 million infections.
• 
  2020-10-29

  San Antonio Family Bar

  This news article is about the San Antonio Shiran family business during COVID-19. In July 2020, the family tested positive and the husband/father, Harvey, was in the ICU for the month. This forced the wife/mother, Lindsey, to take over the family business. I also attached another news article about a Bexar County grant program for bars and restaurants affected by COVID-19.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-09-06

  The Faces of ICU Nurses Under Pressure

  An ICU nurse started photographing her coworkers during her breaks. Her photographs show the pressure and stress that health care professionals are under during this pandemic.
• 
  2020-10-22

  Governor Chris Christie

  I thought this story was important to preserve. Most politicians who follow President Donald Trump hold him up on a pedestal. In their devoted eyes the President can do no wrong. I was not surprised when Governor Chris Christie contracted COVID, I felt like it was just a matter of time for most of them after the President contracted it. The surprising part was his reaction and revelation after the entered the recovery phase. I was surprised to hear him admit that not wearing a mask was a mistake. I’m assuming that he felt immediate regret because COVID landed him in ICU. He also went on to urge people to wear a mask and protect themselves. This story makes me hope that other diehard Republicans will realize the importance of masks.
• 
  2020-09-02

  Board Meeting & Thank You Cards

  2 nights. 8 hours. 2 school board meetings. Wow. Nampa School district decided early in August to push their start date back to 8/24/2020 to allow for extra planning time and to start the year entirely online. Included with this decision was the responsibility for the board to reevaluate this every two weeks. Well, this week we hit that mark. There have been many rumblings regarding what was to come in the decision. The biggest community push seems to come from parents who want their students involved in athletics. As of last Friday, 8/28/2020, one of our local hospitals was reporting 17/18 bed occupancy in their ICU unit due to Covid. The situation in Idaho is not stellar. Tongiht, at our board meeting, 2 trustees fought and fought for schools to reopen and athletics to continue. However, our superintendent held strong. She continually cited information from the health experts in our area. She noted the tremendous work our teachers are doing. At one point, early in the meeting she said, "teachers are working twice.....three times as hard as usual. They are working harder than they have ever worked before and we need to acknowledge that." - Dr. Paula Kellerer, Nampa School District. WOW. I am submitting this item to the archive to write Dr. Kellerer's name down in history. She is a champion for teachers, all students, and the well-being of our community. In a time where the teaching profession is under attack and districts are fielding those hateful Facebook comments...Dr. Kellerer stands strong. She advocates. She's thoughtful. She listens. I recognize how tremendously fortunate I am to work in a school district with such tremendous leadership. So, tonight, I wrote thank you cards. I know I could easily email Dr. Kellerer and other trustees but there's something about a thank you card that has extra 'umph'. Dr. Kellerer, we see you - we appreciate you - and we thank you for being an advocate for education for all.
• 
  2020-07-05

  Phoenix Mayor declares crisis as federal government fails to assist

  Phoenix Mayor Gallego highlights the city in crisis as corona cases surge. Gallego also notes that her requests for federal assistance have largely been ignored. The Mayor talks about overwhelmed health centers in the state and the lack of tests available. Arizona continues to be a global hotspot for the virus for the past few weeks. As a hometown Phoenician, it saddens me to see my sates role in the pandemic story. Just this week Arizona went back into partial lockdown as ICU's filled up. I want to keep adding Arizona stories to the archive in order to document the poor response here from both the government and public. The state traded in a few weeks of being fully reopened for potentially months of re-lockdown.
• 
  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)
• 
  2020-03-24

  Extreme Measures

  Medical staff moves a patient in an isolation bed into a room during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-05-05

  Through Chinese Social Media -- 5

  I’m a study-abroad student. Due to the virus, I had to stay at my home in New York. I got the update of the virus through Chinese social media, and I think it is really interesting. I’m going to share some posts from Chinese social media about the virus. The post is about that one of the temporary hospitals is going to close, which means the hope is coming. Through the post, I feel the persistence of those front line fighters. There are plenty of touching stories in the post. One of them brings his daughter's doll to the front line. They are also others' wives, husbands, mothers, children. These medical staff came to the frontline at the risk of infection, and their families were also worried, proud, and worried about them from afar.
• 
  2020-05-10

  Through Chinese Social Media -- 3

  I’m a study-abroad student. Due to the virus, I had to stay at my home in New York. I got the update of the virus through Chinese social media, and I think it is really interesting. I’m going to share some posts from Chinese social media about the virus. The post shares the current situation in the front lines. The photos in the post are so touching. Disease, urgency, risk, and death are the themes of twelve hours. People in the front line were trapped behind masks and face masks, breathing hard, causing them to feel severe headaches. Even though, they are still insisting on caring all the patients.
• 
  2020-04-01

  West Jefferson Medical Center thanks Central City BBQ, Marrero, LA

  Central City BBQ delivered lunch to frontline nurses in the ICU and CCU.