NATIONAL NURSING WEEK
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WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021
MAY 6-12, 2019 NATIONAL NURSING WEEK cna-aiic.ca MAY 10-16, 2021 A Vision For Future Healthcare #W e A nswer T he C all
Your leadership makes a difference every day. Share your story @canadanurses #VoiceToLead #IND2019 & #NationalNursingWeek
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FROM LEFT: JESSICA MANLAPAZ,TRUDY NERNBERG, RYAN HAYWARD, LESLIE DRYBURGH. PHOTO BY NATASHA WOLOSCHUK, WINNIPEG REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITY
STATE OF GRACE NURSES SUPPORT PATIENTS, FAMILIES — AND EACH OTHER
Thank You Nurses Frontline Heroes
BY MIKE DALY W hen it comes to understanding the daily triumphs, sorrows and impacts of working on a unit caring for critically ill COVID-19 patients, Grace Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses say, “You had to be there.” In November, Grace Hospital’s 10-bed ICU expanded to two units handling up to 18 COVID patients at a time. It was a logistical challenge, but also a human one. “It’s almost impossible to paint a mental picture for someone about the range of emotions you go through and what a COVID unit is really like,” says critical-care registered nurse Ryan Hayward. “You have to be in it to understand it.” As a 12-year ICU veteran, Hayward says that while he had become somewhat accustomed to caring for critically ill and dying patients, some of his colleagues — who were brought in to temporarily bolster the unit’s staff complement — were experiencing a critical-care environment for the first time. “One day I got tapped on the shoulder, and a nurse said to me, ‘Ryan, I’ve never seen anyone die before.’ I had to take a step back and talk her through the death and dying process and put her more at ease with what was going to happen.” It isn’t any easier on family members who, due to restrictions necessary to limit the spread of COVID, can’t be with their loved ones as they pass. To help families cope, ICU staff use applications such as Zoom and FaceTime, which allow them — in a virtual sense — to be bedside with their loved one. Staff also take part in a moment of silence at the bedside, which reassures families that the lives of their loved ones are honoured and that they aren’t alone at their time of passing. With the pandemic now in its second year, nurses have demonstrated both bravery and
resiliency, especially during the pandemic’s early days, when there were many more unknowns. “All of us were frightened,” says long-time nurse Leslie Dryburgh, one of several nurses brought in to assist Grace Hospital’s ICU staff in a team-based approach to COVID care. “We put on a brave face, as nurses often do, but deep inside there were lots of days where our stomachs were saying, ‘What am I doing here?’ We felt a lot of fear for our patients as well.” Teamwork and compassion were the keys to success, Dryburgh says. “I was so lucky to work in an environment with great people who worked as a team to provide outstanding care.We really looked out for our patients and for each other.” Trudy Nernberg, Grace Hospital’s critical-care clinical manager and a registered nurse, agrees that nurses have turned to each other for moral and professional support. “Looking after each other was a huge part of our success, and I think that’s continuing to this day,” she says. “I’ve seen it as a time of significant growth. ICU nurses are really proud of what they do and their ability to care for the sickest of the sick. We’ve been able to share and spread that pride to new members of the team, helping us extend what we can do in a day.” One of those new team members was Jessica Manlapaz, who graduated as a critical-care registered nurse in August 2020. “Being new to the ICU, I’m still getting used to a new routine and a new mentality,” she says. “But caring for COVID patients is new for even experienced nurses. So, like them, I’m gaining confidence as I go along. We are all doing our best for our patients, for ourselves and for each other.”
Wab Kinew MLA for Fort Rouge wab.kinew@yourmanitoba.ca
Nello Altomare MLA for Transcona nello.altomare@yourmanitoba.ca
Uzoma Asagwara MLA for Union Station uzoma.asagwara@yourmanitoba.ca
Diljeet Brar MLA for Burrows diljeet.brar@yourmanitoba.ca
Ian Bushie MLA for Keewatinook ian.bushie@yourmanitoba.ca
Danielle Adams MLA for Thompson danielle.adams@yourmanitoba.ca
Nahanni Fontaine MLA for St. Johns nahanni.fontaine@yourmanitoba.ca
Amanda Lathlin MLA for The Pas-Kameesak amanda.lathlin@yourmanitoba.ca
Malaya Marcelino MLA for Notre Dame malaya.marcelino@yourmanitoba.ca
Jim Maloway MLA for Elmwood jim.maloway@yourmanitoba.ca
Tom Lindsey MLA for Flin Flon tom.lindsey@yourmanitoba.ca
Jamie Moses MLA for St. Vital jamie.moses@yourmanitoba.ca
Adrien Sala MLA for St. James adrien.sala@yourmanitoba.ca
Lisa Naylor MLA for Wolseley lisa.naylor@yourmanitoba.ca
Matt Wiebe MLA for Concordia matt.wiebe@yourmanitoba.ca
Bernadette Smith MLA for Point Douglas bernadette.smith@yourmanitoba.ca
Mintu Sandhu MLA for The Maples mintu.sandhu@yourmanitoba.ca
Mike Daly is a communications specialist with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
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