Discussion response
Destiny
Coronavirus-19 has been around for almost two years. When Covid-19 first came around, the entire nation was thrown into a frenzy. Some leaders within our countries received warnings regarding the highly contagious virus before it became a national issue, and these same leaders chose to disregard the warnings (Sanger, D. E., Lipton, E., Sullivan, E., & Crowley, M. (2020, March 19). Covid-19 has been a national health care issue and stressor from the beginning. The virus has depleted resources and health care professionals (Harper, K. B. (2021, August 5). The supply of resources drastically shot up during the beginning of the pandemic. Many health care professionals were not equipped with the proper personal protective equipment. Not having the correct PPE for workers increased the risks of works getting sick, being in quarantine which ultimately lead to more stress on the hospitals all across the nation (Hospital experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. (n.d.). Limited equipment such as ventilators and hospital beds also lead to many issues that professionals had to resolve on short notice.
As a registered nurse I have witnessed the pandemic unfold within the hospital system. Initially, many nurses quit due to PPE shortages. Fortunately, volunteers donated a plethora of PPE supplies for health care workers. Once the hospital was caught up with the supply demands, PPE was available as needed at my current organization. The numbers have decreased and hospital beds and ventilators are not in high demand at our facility. When those resources were in high demand, we utilized some areas of the hospital that were not being used. We created more hospital rooms to match the demand that we were facing. My health care organization also dedicated a whole unit to covid patients at the beginning of the pandemic. Of course this increased and more rooms on different units were added as needed. My organization adapted well to the resources and information that they had to combat this national health care issue. Covid-19 will be around with us for years to come, I believe that health care organizations like mine now have a plan of action to abide by if another pandemic similar to this one were to arise.
References
Harper, K. B. (2021, August 5). Texas hospitals are hit by a staffing crisis as burnout depletes the workforce and covid-19 surges. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/05/texas-hospitals-nurses-covid/.
Hospital experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-06-20-00300.pdf.
Sanger, D. E., Lipton, E., Sullivan, E., & Crowley, M. (2020, March 19). Before the virus outbreak, a cascade of warnings went unheeded. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-outbreak.html.
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Solution
Current Healthcare Issues (Review)
Since the emergency of the Covid-19 pandemic, the healthcare sector and related stakeholders have faced a hard time mitigating the problem. The country’s healthcare and emergency response units have been frantic to establish measures and practical strategies to contain the virus. The government, healthcare professionals, agencies, and related stakeholders have worked collaboratively on prevention, education, surveillance, containment, treatment coordination, and delivery to the public (COVID-19 response, n.d). The efforts to address the public’s care needs during the pandemic have exposed the sector’s shortcomings to address emergency cases such as effective teamwork, healthcare professional’s shortage, limited resources, and challenges in meeting the needs of vulnerable populations in the country (How is WHO responding to COVID-19, 2021). More so, the Covid endemic has seen the country face diverse challenges ranging from risk of virus containment and mitigating the overstretched health industry to the knock-on effects from the containment efforts in health, livelihood, and education systems. Shortage of resources such as professional workers and equipment such as PPEs has derailed the fight against the spread of the virus (Strengthening health systems during a pandemic: The role of development finance, 2020). In an effort to have a successful mitigation plan, the diverse stakeholders have adopted engaging the vulnerable communities, increasing support for the healthcare systems, adopting measures to sustain livelihoods, building resilience, and utilizing volunteers to address workers shortage.
As a registered nurse, I have seen the unfolding of the pandemic from the healthcare center stage. From the onset of the Covid-19, the direct players in the healthcare system such as nurses and physicians have been the frontline fighters of the virus. There was initial fear among the nurses attending to the patients due to lack or shortage of adequate protective gears. Some of the professional workers left work in fear of being infected. The high demand for care services coupled with limited resources led to my organization leaders dedicating a specified team to address the high patients’ number. Establishing a special team to address the pandemic issues helps the organization adapt to the pandemic needs and effective employee management. While the covid-19 has caused devastating impacts such as loss of life, unemployment, disruption of the school calendar, and global travel, the pandemic has positively enabled effective planning for future pandemics. Being a nurse, I have equally understood and appreciated the role and power of teamwork in crisis and addressing current and future health issues.
References
Strengthening health systems during a pandemic: The role of development finance. (2020, June 25). OECD. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/strengthening-health-systems-during-a-pandemic-the-role-of-development-finance-f762bf1c/
How is WHO responding to COVID-19? (2021, November 23). WorldHealthOrganization. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/who-response-in-countries
COVID-19 response. (n.d). VSO. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.vsointernational.org/COVID-19