COVID-19 REFLECTIONS, RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY There are more than 170,000 healthcare workers across the state of Oklahoma, and every one of them has been impacted by COVID-19, including those serving residents in Edmond. Mercy, OU Health and INTEGRIS saw hundreds of COVID patients and worked tirelessly to stop the spread of the virus. “Throughout the pandemic, all the hospitals partnered together,” said Angie Kamermayer, chief nursing officer at INTEGRIS Health Edmond. “There was no longer INTEGRIS, OU Medical Center and Mercy Hospital, we all became one and united in conquering this disease and protecting our community.” The Edmond Chamber appreciates the service, sacrifice and bravery of every healthcare professional and shares these stories to highlight their courage and perseverance in the midst of a year-long healthcare crisis.
MERCY EDMOND I-35 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT During the pandemic, Haley Hunter and Dr. Brent Mefford led the team at the newly launched emergency room at Mercy Edmond I-35. Hunter is the nursing manager, and Dr. Mefford serves as medical director.
“We’re trained for anything that walks through the door, but when you don’t know what that’s going to entail, it’s hard to get those preparations in place,” said Dr. Mefford. “People were pouring out support and asking what they could do for us to make things smoother, and one of the hard things was having to say ‘I don’t know.’” Both mentioned the significance of the community’s support. From honking horns and thank you signs to holiday food and personalized cards, the encouragement made a real difference to the healthcare workers.
“Our roles really changed a lot. We had just opened the Edmond location not long before COVID started rearing its head,” said Dr. Mefford. “We had to change pace as well as try to quickly get acquainted in our new roles at the satellite facility.”
“The community has shown us a lot of support, and I’m so grateful for that, but be patient with us as we navigate this uncharted territory. It’s been hard and we’re still learning,” said Hunter. “Give us some grace and just be patient with us as we learn the new normal.”
As the healthcare industry continued to learn about the novel COVID-19 virus, CDC recommendations and medical best practices changed on a daily, sometimes twice daily, basis.
Despite the difficulties and sacrifices made over the last year, the pair are still passionate about providing care and serving our community through healthcare.
“The hardest part was never having faced anything like this before and the unknown of everything,” said Hunter. “We were adjusting to ever-changing guidelines and learning how to support our team while we were scared for our own lives and families.”
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COVID brought a whole new type of sickness they had never seen before. These patients required intense respiratory care and ventilators, which meant more staff and more time needed for treatment.
“It was tough in a lot of ways. It challenged me personally, challenged us as a team and challenged us as a profession,” said Hunter. “I hope we never have to go through something like this again, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
