‘Coming to work gets harder,’ says overwhelmed Hamilton ICU nurse
With her voice breaking, Jenny Lo fights to find words to describe the fear and anguish of being a nurse working in a Hamilton intensive care unit (ICU) during the third wave of COVID.
I'm not going to lie, it's very overwhelming," Lo says while she fights back tears in a candid video by St. Joseph's Healthcare. Coming to work gets harder. Being at risk frightens me - for me and my family."
ICU staff are struggling to care for record numbers of critically ill patients - their own age or even the age of their adult children - as nearly three-quarters of Hamilton COVID cases are variants which spread faster and cause more severe sickness.
This is real, I've seen it, I'm living through it right now," said Lo. It's very tough on everybody ... We will risk it for you but you've got to do your part too."
Lo's plea for the public to stay home and follow restrictions comes as Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health expressed worry about Mother's Day on Sunday causing a spike in infections just as the province - including Hamilton - is cresting the third wave.
Ontario traditionally has observed a rise in COVID-19 cases after special holidays," said Dr. Barbara Yaffe.
The city reported 144 new infections Friday, however Hamilton cases are being under-reported due to an issue uploading lab results.
A more reliable picture is the daily average of new cases at 155 and the weekly rate per 100,000 at 181. Both are higher than the peak of the second wave.
The reproduction number went back up to 1.12 on Thursday after falling to 0.86 the week before. The number of tests coming back positive has been at record levels for five days, sitting at 12.2 per cent Friday.
I would be surprised if things open up at the end of May," said Yaffe. They may open partially. Certainly we don't want to open up prematurely and end up with a fourth wave."
The city reported the death of a senior in their 70s. Of Hamilton's 367 pandemic deaths, more than 85 per cent have been age 70 or over.
ICU staff were heartfelt on the video when speaking about the toll the pandemic has taken on the families of dying patients.
Hearing the physicians and other nurses talk to families on the phone about the current status of their loved ones and families coming here to say goodbye, it's heartbreaking," said Jesseca Tolan, manager patient experience, quality and safety. I wouldn't wish that for anybody."
Ontario's chief coroner continues to warn about sudden COVID deaths at home, particularly in south central Ontario. As of Thursday, 29 deaths in April and seven in May were being investigated after people died so fast they had no chance to get medical care.
St. Josephs staff say they've been taken by surprise at the magnitude of how fast COVID is sending patients to the ICU.
Things have escalated really quickly," said nurse Rachel Janusc. The wave we're in now it's unreal and I don't even think we're in the middle of it yet."
Hamilton's hospitals were caring for 147 COVID patients Friday with 71 of those in the ICU.
Our ICUs are being overwhelmed and we are seeing a lot of very young people get very sick," said nurse Gina Pa.
The Charlton Campus of St. Joe's has three ICUs instead of one as it upped beds to 41 from 27.
It is people your age, people your parents' age, maybe your kids' age," respiratory therapist Allison Baetz said about ICU patients.
GTA hospitals have transferred 11 more patients from Monday to Thursday - eight to Hamilton, two to Burlington and one to Niagara. A total of 263 GTA patients have been sent to this area since Jan. 11.
When someone comes in with COVID quite often their whole family has COVID, which means they can't be here with them," said critical care chief Dr. Mark Soth. Half our patients here are from out of town so they are not even in the same city as their family."
Joanna Frketich is a Hamilton-based reporter covering health for The Spectator. Reach her via email: jfrketich@thespec.com