‘People are afraid’: Foothills nurse speaks out amid outbreak
Posted Sep 28, 2020 7:15 am.
Last Updated Sep 28, 2020 7:16 am.
CALGARY (CityNews) – A nurse who works at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary is sharing what it’s like to work in a building with a growing COVID-19 outbreak.
CityNews has agreed to keep the nurse’s identity anonymous.
“I think and people are afraid. They’re afraid for their families and their friends.”
As of Sunday, five more patients and seven more staff contracted the virus in relation to the Foothills Hospital outbreak, with 25 patients and 25 staff cases since it began.
RELATED: Fourth patient dies in COVID-19 outbreak at Foothills hospital
Four people have died due to COVID-19 and there are now two more units under an outbreak making four in total, with three more under a watch.
One of those units is not believed to be connected to the outbreak, according to Alberta Health Services.
About 136 staff members are in self-isolation.
“Tension is really, really, really high,” the nurse said. “Kind of as soon as the outbreak was announced, the morale in the hospital dropped almost instantly.”
While the nurse said the number of staff self-isolating hasn’t affected their work schedule, other protocols implemented because of the outbreak are a concern.
“I don’t really want to elaborate on it, because it’s kind of a specific policy that impacted one of our life-saving measures and it was a hard situation for anybody that had to go through because policy definitely impacted how we responded.”
WATCH: Staff and patients part of outbreak at Foothills Medical Centre
Visitation is still allowed in the hospital, aside from the units under outbreak- though as the situation evolves, the nurse said that could change.
The Foothills Hospital outbreak is the second-deadliest to hit an Alberta health-care facility since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As restrictions in Alberta continue to lift, and life seems to get closer to what it once was, the nurse explains the outbreak at Foothills is a reminder that this pandemic is ever-changing and far from over.
“This definitely has been shocking and it just shows you how in the right number of circumstances that COVID can spread so quickly to vulnerable people and it’s definitely an eye-opener.”
