NEW YORK —
Three Memphis nurses are on the frontlines in the coronavirus epicenter, New York. They spoke exclusively to Local 24 News Weeknight Anchor Katina Rankin. They are real, raw, and open about what they have seen the past two weeks. We want to warn you. It may sound graphic, but these nurses want people here in the Mid-South to hear the reality of what this virus does.
"So, each day we have to don PPE or personal protective equipment. It consists of a head cover, and then we put on goggles or a face shield and then we put on our N95 (mask),” said Nurse Ameika Holmes.
Ameika Holmes, Velencia Williams, and Casandria Stanback would normally be working at West Cancer Clinic or Lakeside here in Memphis. But, for the past couple of weeks, they’ve been on the frontlines working in Brooklyn and Queens hospitals helping to save the lives of COVID-19 patients in New York. And they spoke very candidly to me about what they do and what they see on a daily basis.
"What they say on the news is real. It's code after code, death after death,” said Nurse Velencia Williams.
"One of the worst things out of all of this is these people are alone. None of their families can come in. So, they're pretty much dying by themselves. I had a patient to code. We were trying to get the family on the phone, so they can see their loved ones one last time, but those are the situations we're in,” said Nurse Casandria Stanback.
When patients go into cardiac or respiratory arrest and health professionals try to revive them, they say a pillowcase is placed over their heads.
"The pillowcase - they have to put that over their faces to prevent, like if there are some droplets that come out while they're having, doing these compressions to protect ourselves. Sometimes in the midst of doing compressions, our PPE like the masks, goggles - they can fall down. And, so they have to do things like that to protect us as well,” said Nurse Ameika Holmes.
Their message to us?
"If we could get just one thing out there - please, please take this serious y'all,” said Stanback.
"We just ask that you all continue to pray for us. We thank you so much for your support,” said Holmes.
"And if you can, please stay home. If you don't have to be out, please do not get out. Stay home, practice social distancing, washing your hands. If you are out, if you have a mask, put a mask on because this virus is spreading rapidly,” said Williams.
We definitely thank them for being on the frontlines and pray for their strength. The ladies say they work a minimum of twelve hours a day.