Health leaders monitoring the toll battling COVID-19 is having on North Texas health care workers
DALLAS - Doctors are looking at what’s happening in North Texas hospitals and to hospital workers who've been waging war against COVID-19 for months.
“We're definitely in another surge. It’s alarming,” Fort Worth pediatrician Dr. Gary Floyd.
Dr. Floyd is sounding the alarm about the spread of COVID-19 seen in the current increase in ER visits and hospital stays, which is creating another worry.
“Our problem now is how many staff are being infected themselves, and so far, we haven't had staff shortages, but that’s a concern,” he explained.
The doctor's concerned not only about health care workers being infected, but affected.
“People are tired, our staffs are tired in our hospitals,” Dr. Floyd said. “It wears you out, not only physically, but the mental strain.”
“Health care workers do have high rates of anxiety, high rates of stress in reaction to what’s happening to COVID-19,” said Baylor Scott & White psychologist Dr. Ann Marie Warren.
Dr. Warren is in the middle of conducting two studies looking to learn what some are doing to successfully cope with continued care of COVID-19 patients.
“And how can we take those techniques and create interventions to help reduce the stress that’s coming along with the pandemic,” she explained.
Medical experts say irresponsible behavior fueling COVID-19 surge
Parkland Health CEO Dr. Joseph Chang said he's pretty frustrated about the lack of personal responsibility he's been seeing lately. For example, two members of one North Texas family ended up in the hospital with COVID-19 because someone let their sick child go to a slumber party.
On Good Day with Tim Ryan, Parkland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Chang was very blunt about selfish behavior he has both personally seen and heard about from hospital staff, especially in younger age groups.
“Personal responsibility. It’s about personal responsibility,” he said. “If you are sick, stop interacting with other people. Your personal fun is not worth ruining the lives of other people, it just has to be said.”
“It's been a long six to eight months. We've been battling this and we've got another six to eight months, but we're close,” Dr. Floyd said.
A nurse practitioner administers COVID-19 tests in the parking lot. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
But it’s only close to being over if people handle the holidays from afar.
“With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming, we're concerned that the surge will continue or even increase, and that could cripple us on the hospital side,” Dr. Floyd added.
Dr. Floyd said his opinion is children aren't getting sick at school, but are getting sick at extra-curricular activities, many of which he said are being put on by parents.
And he added that for some children, the virus has been devastating.