As the number of cases of coronavirus increases in the U.S., people often wonder what it is like being a health care provider during this pandemic. It is not easy, according to those in the thick of it. That is why patients are thankful to be under the care of the trained and selfless workers who do their best to save lives under difficult conditions.

At Damaree Crossing Nursing Home in Greenwood, patients are fortunate to have Dorothy Ogega, who works up to 18-hour shifts as a registered nurse. There she works with patients to give them their necessary medicine while maintaining their distance. For older people, this can be a tough time since they are unable to see their families. The nurses are their family at this moment of time.

“Protecting our patients means that we do not accept any family members to come and see them. So that means we are their family.”Ogega said.

The mother of four sons is also concerned about protecting her children from the virus. After every shift, she goes through a routine to sanitize not only herself but her scrubs, so that she does not bring contamination into their home. Before she enters the house, she needs to remove her scrubs in the garage and shower before she interacts with her kids.

The difficult work and long hours take a toll on health care workers and their families. “I am working almost double of what I was working before,” Ogega Said. “And now it’s not as simple to come home and kick your shoes off.”

The virus has left city streets abandoned, with hospitals filled with patients needing instant treatment. Hospitals in the area are needing as many hands as they can get.

Dr. Michael L. Lutz is a radiologist who examines hundreds of x-rays and CT scans every shift. Unlike many healthcare workers, Dr. Lutz can work from home. He examines scans from several hospitals including; Community Hospitals North, East, and West, Johnson Memorial Hospital, Franciscan Health and other small imaging centers. Lutz says COVID19 is alarming in the way it attacks the lungs of most of the patients. Dr. Lutz says it is a frightening thing to watch a pandemic unfold within his community. “This is actually here, and we are seeing so many patients with it, and this is just early,” Lutz said. “This can get much worse.”

Dr. Lutz is a professional in his field and advises the people of America to stay inside and only go out for essentials and practice social distancing. Gloves and masks should be necessary when getting necessities and to remain six feet apart until a solid treatment or vaccine is widely available.

With states starting to ease restrictions on stay-at-home orders, and public places and business starting to open back up, experts say it will not be surprising to see COVID19 cases increase before they decrease.

Health care workers are going to go through rough days. They say small acts of kindness matters these days. You can donate to meals to healthcare workers through https://offtheirplate.org/

They say it makes a big difference to know people care…that it is easy to forget, but we are all in this together.

To follow up on the active infections and death go to coronavirus.jhu.edu. Here you can go to each county and state for local details.