As Elyse Isopo, a nurse practitioner in the intensive care unit at North Shore University Hospital in New York, prepared for the day ahead of her, she glanced over at the clock. It was only 4 am, and she understood that a long day awaited her, but it was her job.
At 5 am, she was already treating sick patients as well as helping doctors. Nonetheless, as 3 pm rolled around, Isopo felt overwhelmed and broke down in tears.
"I'm so tired, but I'm gonna take a deep breath and keep going on," said Isopo during her 13-hour shift.
Across the world, medical staff is on the front lines battling a pandemic that has taken numerous lives, COVID-19. With insufficient medical gear/room, making heartbreaking phone calls, long shifts, and taking care of their own family, they're heroes that don't get sufficient acknowledgment.
"This is a battlefield, and we've turned ourselves from nurses into soldiers," said Janett Perez, a registered nurse in Maimonides Medical Center in New York City.
The Maimonides Medical Center is in the epicenter of the fight against COVID-19, New York City. Due to the number of patients coming in, they installed tents outside to accommodate patients. Moreover, they also set up temporary morgues known as Body Collection Points, which they haven't done since 9/11.
According to GNYHA, an evolving center for health care advocacy and expertise, New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) is providing refrigerated trailers to facilities that have reached morgue capacity. However, on several occasions, they're outside people's homes.
"If it was one of my family members, I would be angry, after all, they're human beings," said Rocio Estrada, a mother of two and a factory worker. "However, analyzing the situation, I would understand because there's no room."
Francisco Estrada, a father of two and an essential worker, also felt the same way. Although most of his family members live in Mexico, he would be angry if they're bodies were in the streets. To him, he considers it "inhumane."
With the number of patients arriving, there also isn't enough medical staff to assist them. In a lot of cases, medical staff from all over the country travel to hospitals in need. For example, D’Neil Schmall, a Registered Nurse at Maimonides Medical Center, left DC to help. Dr. Astrid Holland, an Emergency Medicine Physician, also left her home to work at Maimonides to help the staggering numbers.
"Seeing friends and colleagues being affected by it, I felt as if I had to do something if not me, then who else?" said Holland.
On several occasions, multiple doctors have to do various jobs for the hospital to run smoothly. Dr. Daniel Nekola, who practices anesthesiology at Maimonides Hospital, has to run the makeshift ICU; however, he's also in charge of making the call that no one ever wishes to make.
"Telling someone that their family member may not make it, it takes a lot for you to be able to muster the strength," said Nekola. "There are times that people get angry. There are some people that just accept it, and there are some people that cry."
For a lot of the medical staff, their family is the ones that keep them going. For Dr. John Marshall, Emergency Medicine Chair at Maimonides Medical Center, his family keeps him on track.
"If I don't have a little bit of time with family every evening, I think this would all be a lot harder," said Marshall. "Being with my family is the kind of thing that reminds me why we're doing all of this."
Marshall is part of the hospital team that holds check-ins every morning to see how much medical supply they have. Regardless, Congress adding $75 billion in emergency funds for hospitals and roughly $25 billion for testing doesn't hide the fact that they're still running short on supplies.
On this particular day that ABC News was present on the check-in, Michael Antoniades, the EVP and COO of Maimonides Medical Center, informed the team that they lost one of their own. Their daily exposure levels leave them at high risk for infection, especially when they're changing the breathing tube on the patient, explained Nikola.
In the end, medical staff across the world has experienced death, tears, and long hours with no sleep. They're heroes that don't get sufficient recognition. They're jeopardizing their lives to save someone's family member, and although they don't show it, they're frightened.
"I look at all my colleagues, who keep coming to work and keep going at it, and I do think that they're heroes," said Holland.
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