Emergency Room: The Covid Diaries

Emergency Room: The Covid Diaries, is a true-life look behind the headlines first-hand account of what it was like behind the scenes at a major American hospital as the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the United States as seen by nurses and doctors who dealt with the unprecedented crisis every day.In Episode 1, we hear about a devastating motorcycle accident and the massive trauma suffered by the rider - but before he can be treated there’s something all patients need to provide - a Covid test.  We meet Vanessa  Makarewicz, RN, the Infection Prevention Operations manager for Harborview Hospital in Seattle, Washington, who leads us through the opening hours of the pandemic, the late night texts between medical specialists, and the building wave of cases about to knock down the doors. 

Emergency Room: The Covid Diaries, is a true-life look at what it was like behind the scenes at a major American hospital as the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the United States.Episode Two dives deep into what happens on a Covid 19 Intensive Care Unit at Harborview Hospital in Seattle, ground zero for the US outbreak. We meet Matthew Cazier, a critical care Registered Nurse working in these dangerous and challenging units. We hear how patients are helped when they are in crisis, the sometimes desperate measures staff undertake to keep patients alive and how healthcare workers keep each other safe from a potentially deadly virus. We learn how lungs work and how ventilators work. 

Emergency Room: The Covid Diaries, is a true-life look at what it was like behind the scenes at a major American hospital as the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the United States. In Episode Three Matthew and Guy speak with Dr. Chloe Bryson Cahn, a professor of Infectious Diseases and a physician whose expertise is stopping the spread of diseases like the coronavirus.She explains how she treats infections and builds protocols that keep patients and staff safe and we hear her frustrations about what has been the most momentous and terrifying year in world health in the last century - and celebrate a few healthcare victories. 

EPISODE 4. Building on the success of the previous 3 episodes, in episode 4 we meet Sommer Kleweno Walley, CEO of Harborview Medical Center. She takes us through the early response to Covid 19 at a senior administrative level.  Recounting the essential creation of the Washington Medical Coordination Center, an organization of all major hospitals in the NorthWest that battles to contain the devastating effects of Corona Virus on hospital systems. We also hear about  her successes and challenges in keeping “the doors open” at our vital level one trauma center. Episode 4 highlights the massive drain the pandemic has placed on all health care, city wide, regionally and nationally, and how we still have a long way to go before we can defeat this virus and restore normalcy again. 

As Omicron sweeps the world Guy and Matthew speak with Darcy Jaffe, a Senior Vice President at the Washington State Hospital Association responsible for Safety and Quality. Darcy discusses how collaboration, cooperation, and communication across hospitals has increased COVID safety and what safety in a hospital really means. We discuss how rural hospitals have met the challenges of COVID and the serious risks when a neighboring state has a different response to COVID and drains local resources. Conversations explore the complications, and the vital needs, of mental health care during the pandemic, how maternity care and giving birth in hospitals has changed during COVID, and why Washington state is a leader in COVID care. Also, Guy helps Matthew learn what a travel nurse is and how to correctly pronounce 'Om... Om.. Omicron". 

Emergency Room: The Covid Diaries, is a true-life look at what it was like behind the scenes at a major American hospital as the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the United States.The podcast introduces us to executives and frontline healthcare workers to learn about the tough decisions they had to make everyday and the challenges they faced in every moment in an unprecedented crisis. Episode Six introduces listeners to Berhane Kelit, a Hospital Assistant and Lift team specialist,  whose job seems so simple but we learn is so important. He tells us about the challenges coordinating patient mobility, the impact Covid has had on his work, the fears and hopes he shares with his co-workers about the ongoing pandemic, and how his frontline job has impacted his home life and his family. We also learn that Berhane is a big  fan of English Premier League Football. 

“The Pandemic is Over!”The pandemic is not over.  The hosts of Emergency Room:The Covid Diaries would like to celebrate as much as some other people and elected leaders and governments in the United States reporting that Covid-19 is done but we prefer to look at the facts and figures regarding the virus and report back that there is much work to do.  In this episode we meet Dr John Lynch, an Infectious Disease doctor and the physician responsible for Covid protocols and employee health at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.  Dr Lynch is considered an eminent voice in infection prevention nationally. His work in fighting the pandemic has been relentless and continues to this day.  We hear from Dr Lynch what we can do, and why we should do it, when it comes to dealing with the surging Omicrom BA2 variant.  We also hear from Matthew about his time as a kindergarten teacher in New York City in the depths of 2020 and 2021 while Guy tells us how a touring band returns to the road just as yet another surge of the virus hits the nation.