To get a better idea of how the medical community was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of medical professionals from Westerly Hospital were interviewed to get their input on the matter. 

Whitney Jaccarino, a Registered Nurse and clinical coordinator at the hospital, said that the biggest obstacle she faced was a lack of patients. During the beginning of the pandemic, operating rooms were shut down for all non-emergent cases. She went on to say that the lack of patients led to nursing being floated to other units.  

“For us, our biggest obstacle was resources, in terms of people, to provide care. We were pretty short staffed” says Carlota Izaguirre, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Izaguirre was working in New York at the height of the pandemic. She goes on to say that New York was very hard hit at the time.   

Cassandra Garon, a Registered Nurse at the hospital, said that the biggest obstacle she faced was job security. “They cancelled surgeries for a while so we didn’t really know what was going to happen with us.” Garon said. “We also had to go help other units, and we didn’t do surgery, so we were worried if we were going to be able to work everyday.” When asked if the fear of job security stays with her now, she said that “It seems everywhere is short staffed right now, so I’m not really worried about it at this point.”

To get a better idea of how the health of the general public was affected by the pandemic, Doctor Pamela Connors, a Physician Gastroenterologist at Westerly Hospital, was asked if she has seen an increase in preventable diseases during the pandemic. Doctor Connors said that because there were delayed screening procedures, the hospital saw more cases of advanced colon diseases, like colon cancer. She also said that the patient’s fear of seeking care and the uninformed information that was being spread were some of the worst effects on patients. 

The important thing to remember is that there are indeed silver linings to this pandemic.  “The coverings, the masks, the PAPRs (Powered Air Purifying Respirator) , the things that they’ve given us through the hospital to protect ourselves when we’re intubated or with a Covid positive patient” has made Janet Fetherston, a Nurse Anesthetist at the hospital, feel more safe in the hospital. 

Nurse Carlota Izaguirre says, “I think [the pandemic] has definitely made our emergency preparedness a lot stronger. I also think that people are pausing a little more in terms of risk.” She also says that personal protective equipment is being distributed among hospitals more evenly. 

 COVID-19 has certainly had a great impact on the medical community. . Although we all would hope for a return to the normal we once knew, the post-COVID-19 era may be ushering in a new normal.