More than four months into the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors and nurses in DFW continue to wage a daily battle to save every life possible.
“The fear is still very much there and I don’t wish this upon anyone,” said nurse Jaime Fletes.
Fletes is a nurse in the ICU at Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth and has watched firsthand as staff has had to take new steps to connect severely ill patients with loved ones.
“With this infection, we cannot allow visitors, right, so we are doing all the communication with families through camera or phone and most of the time we are the ones holding these devices and hearing this raw emotion of people losing their loved ones and it is absolutely heartbreaking,” said Fletes.
But Fletes remains hopeful that improving treatments will continue to bring better outcomes. At Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Amy Wilson also believes an evolution in patient care is underway.
“That(COVID-19) has really accelerated the way we deliver care,” said Wilson.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Wilson said the hospital is increasingly using virtual care options and new forms of team treatment to battle the virus.
“The situation is a lot better, we are fully stocked with PPE, the staff is really comfortable,” said Wilson.
Both Wilson and Fletes are hopeful conditions surrounding the virus will continue to improve and the number of cases will fall in months to come.
“It’s still very hard and every day is a challenge for sure but we do what we can,” said Fletes.
*Map locations are approximate, central locations for the city and are not meant to indicate where actual infected people live.
