Chief Nursing Officer Chris Boese has been incident command at Region’s Hospital, St. Paul and wearing a mask at groceries/everywhere since March. Hasn’t gotten infected. Her attitude? Protective equipment/protocols work.

As a new nurse in 1988, she wanted to heal people. Instead, hospitals were inundated with young men dying of a disease few understood — AIDS. Some colleagues “wanted nothing to do with them.” Her unit said “Being them to us.”

This medical floor (standard/noncritical care) has 18 beds, and 17 of them are full — all of them COVID patients.

In 8-hour shift, with 4 patients, you might enter a room at least twice an hour. That’s 50 times a day “donning and doffing” protective equipment. Nurse Darian Haggedorn checks on patient. “This is a nursing disease,” says Boese. They are doing most of respiratory care.

During a nursing shortage in 2003, Boese went to the Philippines to recruit. A lot of those workers are still here.

Sara Yernberg, nurse manager in the “Surge” ICU (“South Seven”) says “this is not normally an ICU, but now it is.” She’s waiting for the day they’ll have 100 COVID patients at once. Today it’s 90, and 98 last week. Summer was Teens-40. May hit 65 patient max.

The ICU nurses are often younger than you’d think. Average age of nurses at the hospital is around 44, but many run younger. And many are retiring.

This ICU patient is a “political junkie” and likes PBS News Hour/CNN but no aliens or conspiracy shows. Don’t shave his beard! And other instructions.

Tele-progressive nurses (ICU step-down, post ICU) are getting more and more ICU experience. Compared to this summer, “The patients are a lot sicker and they’re here a lot longer,” says Nicole Bodin, r, in break room with Eileen Schouveller.

Dr. Sara Spilseth, chief of staff, says units that used to handle 16 patients can only do 12 because people are delaying care, showing up sicker. They already had heart attack 2 days ago or are so deep into pneumonia they may need breathing tube. Delay complicates care.

“Too often, we are looked at as the front line.” No, says Dr. Charles Braun. The public is the front line, “and the front line is failing us.”