My Experience with COVID-19 in New York as a Registered Nurse
By: Elishoel Reyes, R.N.
In April 2020, I found myself in the same unfortunate position as many Emergency Room nurses across the country. My work hours at the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center emergency room were being dramatically cut back due to low patient flow into the hospital.
COVID-19 had struck fear into our community members causing them to stay home so I had to figure out my next career move. That was when I heard New York’s cry for help. Without a second thought I applied for the position and was immediately assigned to work as an ER nurse at Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.
Within 48 hours of being hired, I was on a plane and when I arrived I could hardly recognize New York City. The normally jammed streets were empty. The sidewalks were bare. Businesses were closed. The citizens of New York were sheltered in their homes. I knew then that the hospitals were going to be worse than I had imagined.
After a few days of orientation, I started working in one of the deadliest hospitals in the country due to the rapid influx of COVID-19 infections. Everywhere you looked in the hospital we saw people hungry for air. You would think that we were in a war zone. We tried desperately to save every patient but it was an impossible challenge.
Towards the end of our three week assignment, we saw less patients every day. Fewer people were dying every hour and the hospital’s original staff nurses were returning. Our mission was just about complete and the hospital’s spirit had returned.
New York reminded me a lot of Eagle Pass, Texas. Like New York, we live in a very tight community and tend to live with our elders. Family unity is very important within our Eagle Pass culture and that potentially makes us just as vulnerable as New York when it comes to the rapid spread of COVID-19. So, with my knowledge on community health I know that it is safe to assume that what worked for New York to slow the spread will also work here in Eagle Pass.
WHAT WE KNOW WORKS:
- Wearing masks;
- Sheltering in place;
- Frequent hand washing;
- Limiting social gatherings; and
- Social Distancing.
Although you may begin to feel numb to these recommendations because we hear them repeated daily, please remember that these are the only interventions that we know that work to prevent the deadly COVID-19 infection. If these recommendations are ignored, you or someone you love may become infected with this invisible virus and we cannot guarantee that we will know how to treat you because there’s still so much that we do not know about the Coronavirus.
Eagle Pass cannot afford to have an influx in critical COVID-19 cases due to our lack of ventilators and supplies. There is a shortage of medical supplies and lifesaving equipment across the country and rural cities like Eagle Pass are finding themselves short and struggling to keep up with infection rates. Now, the only thing that can save our city is the compliance and commitment from people like you and I to follow the rules.
I beg you to help slow the infection rate and to save lives by following Mayor Luis E. Sifuentes and County Judge David R. Saucedo’s emergency orders and recommendations. Protecting others is the polite thing to do. God Bless you and God bless the City of Eagle Pass and Maverick County, Texas.
– Elishoel Reyes, R.N.
