Chief, Department of Infectious Disease, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, New Jersey
“New Jersey has faced an extraordinary COVID-19 outbreak, suffering the second-highest
death and infection totals in the country after New York. … As the contagion escalated
in mid-March, our Bergen County hospital came under siege; it seemed that overnight
we were in the midst of a war zone. Patients were high acuity, and a large number
had severe outcomes. Those on ventilators saw a 10 to 15 percent survival rate. …
The surge of patients required that our medical units be modified. Our materials management
personnel got creative. Within a week, “the shell ICU” was created—a modular MASH
unit built to accommodate 40 infected patients. Areas were converted into negative
pressure spaces, drawing out air to prevent contamination inside. Monitoring equipment
was placed outside pressurized rooms, which reduced the amount of PPE used. We used
inpatient isopods and transport isopods. All of these measures helped us conserve
critical resources during a supply shortage. … By the end of March, we were solely
treating COVID-19 patients. The hospital was nearing capacity and supply stock. Daily,
we were building out to accommodate increasing need. Our administration appealed to
the public for donations and supplies. … The epicenter of the pandemic in New Jersey,
we have become a national model. We are heartened by our unprecedented frontline care.
We are also burned out. Many are suffering from acute stress, PTSD. Our hospital has
had an up-close view of daily tragedies. We have mourned the death of four employees,
and over a dozen doctors have been sickened. Our hospital CEO also contracted the
virus. Personally, I can tell you that the fear I saw in patients’ eyes still sticks
with me. The sounds of the pandemic have become embedded in my consciousness. They
keep me up some nights. … As an infectious disease physician, it has been intellectually
stimulating to witness a pandemic in real time, the first in the social media era.
The pace at which risk-assessment, research and guidance has emerged, the way clinicians
across disciplines, across the globe, have come together, is truly remarkable. … Here
in Teaneck we have reached our peak. We are seeing fewer COVID-19 patients. … I have
become involved in clinical trials: Kevzara (primary investigator) and expanded access
of the drug remdesivir (sub-investigator). I’m also looking at potential therapeutics
and serum antibodies. There is anecdotal evidence that the drugs may help patients
infected with COVID-19, but peer-reviewed studies are needed. … We’re not out of the
woods yet. There will likely be more waves of the virus. We need to stay ahead of
the curve. We need to be vigilant. We need a vaccine. Herd immunity will take longer.”
As told to Jennifer Schaffer Leone
May 11, 2020
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