“I come every day with a shred of hope and a reminder of why I do what I do, and you know that we will continue to show up and take care of whoever is in front of us.”
MINNEAPOLIS – At the beginning of the pandemic, healthcare workers were plagued by shortages. From limited personal protective equipment to blood shortages.
But as we find ourselves entering a new year of yet another COVID surge, this time the shortage centers on a lack of hope for many of those who have been at it since day one.
“We know we’re not going to be able to save every patient, but it really wears your soul when you see sick people who don’t have to be,” said Dr. Sarah Cross, medical director of the birthplace at Masonic Children’s Hospital. by M Health Fairview.
For Dr. Cross, the reality that healthcare workers are dealing with is taking its toll, she recently spoke from the heart of the matter in an op-ed with the Washington Post.
“Many of us have seen more illnesses and perhaps more deaths than we have seen in our entire careers up to this point,” said Dr. Cross.
Which is contributing to a slow decline in the number of medical professionals available to help those in need.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 450,000 healthcare workers have left the field since February 2020.
“Those who are left behind are working harder to meet the needs of the patient,” Cross said.
Leaving many like Cross trying to find the will to survive in their field, at a time when it seems like all hope is truly lost.
“Those of us in healthcare truly care about our patients and the best interest of the general public,” Cross said. She went on to explain, “that you can really trust us when we tell you that the vaccine is overwhelmingly safe and that it reduces your risk of severe COVID, reduces your risk of dying, that’s really true.”
As for where can that sense of hope so necessary for the moment reside?
“We all have to have that hope within ourselves and within our families and for each other,” Cross said. “I come every day with a shred of hope and a reminder of why I do what I do and you know that we will continue to show up and take care of whoever is in front of us.”
Cross concluded by asking: “If you know a health worker, contact him, tell him that you love him or that you are thinking of him, that you believe in him.”
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