DNP ALUMNAE IMPLEMENT COVID-19 PROTOCOL
“Even more than ever, I see nurses as resilient and eager to take on the next change in practice we implement. Nurses ‘show up’ in a crisis – are flexible and able to adjust to changes...” – Patra Reed (’93, ‘16DNP)
JMU Nursing alumna
23
SCHOOL OF NURSING MAGAZINE
DN P graduates Patra Reed (’93, ‘16DNP) and Jill Delawder (‘18DNP) both work for Sentara Rockingham Memorial Hospital in positions that have been instrumental in developing and executing strategies in the workplace to deal with the onset and progression of the pandemic. Reed is the hospital’s Director of Community Health Services and serves as the Blue Ridge Regional Director of Integrated Care Management. Delawder is the Nurse Manager of Patient Care Services; Nursing Professional Development, Diabetes, Enterostomal Therapy & Life Support. We asked them to share their recent experiences and how their DNP training helps them to manage the ever-changing conditions in health care today.
How has the COVID-19 situation affected you at work, your facility and personally? Reed: Our day-to-day operations in nursing leadership has become “a work in progress” during this time with all focus on COVID-19. We are unable to meet face-to-face in groups so our work all happens by conference call, computer meetings and through direct rounding with our staff and patients. Days are spent planning for multiple scenarios and how each one can be handled in the most effective and efficient manner. Our work is focused around allocating resources and supporting our staff. I work closely with both our local and system teams to assure process standardization as well as addressing specific local needs. As leaders, we are regularly looking at projections and how our system is prepared to assist our community. Regular communication with staff is essential and key to keeping members of the team informed and updated. I do constantly worry about staff—how are they doing, are they “okay,” what can I do to make them feel more secure? I
worry about our patients and about our community. We want to shield them from this, keep them all safe. I worry about my family, am I taking anything home to them? I worry about my extended family that I am not able to see during this time. There are just so many emotions during this time. Time at home is spent with my husband who is still working full-time, also at a healthcare organization and with my teenage son who is navigating a rigorous online school schedule. The emotions are intense and raw at times. It is a heavy feeling-unlike anything I have felt in 27 years. Delawder: I think that many healthcare providers did not realize that COVID19 would have as much of an impact as it has. For me and my professional development team, we were tasked with “training up” staff from procedural areas to help care for patients in medsurg, intermediate care, and critical care areas. A system taskforce was developed to create a modified “rapid” new hire orientation, as well as competency checklists for staff who were being trained-up for reallocation. Various other teams were created to work on urgent processes such as code blue, critical care standards of care, visitation, personal protective equipment, etc. As a leader, it was overwhelming but important to keep up with communicating the frequent changes that occurred. Staff, although they have been inundated with information, have remained positive and continue to focus on ensuring patients are safe and do not feel alone. Personally, having recovered from COVID-19, along with my husband who fought multi-focal pneumonia, I have a much different perspective of the pandemic. I understand the feeling of helplessness when your loved one is taken to the hospital and you can’t be with them. I also understand the “need” to be with family, but now having been a positive COVID19 patient myself, I am even more hesitant about any contact with my family.
