Page 2 - National Nurses Week 2020

2M CELEBRATING NATIONAL NURSES WEEK
SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 • ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Coping with COVID-19
How hospitals in Arkansas are overcoming the pandemic
Hospitals around the state have stepped up many safety procedures for staff, including making facemasks and other personal protection equipment mandatory because of the coronavirus pandemic.
By Cody Graves
CREATIVE SERVICES WRITER
With more than 1.28 million cases of corona- virus in the United States, hospitals around the country have had significant strain placed on their resources and staffs.
In order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, hospitals in Arkansas have taken extra precautions to protect patients and staff from infection, especially nurses, who are on the front lines of medical care.
“Nurses are often the person patients see the most during their stay,” said Michelle Roberts, a registered nurse at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Infection Prevention Department in Little Rock. “They are the patient advocate and, in times like these, have to fill the void for family when visitor restrictions are in place. It’s important to make sure that organizations listen to their staff. Nurses are innovative, and it’s been great to see how inventive they can be.
Roberts said UAMS Medical Center has cared for 35 inpatients with COVID-19 and that the hospital’s
leadership has been engaged in developing guidelines to help the staff be prepared to care for these patients. The hospital is screening all people who enter the building by performing symptom screenings and temperature checks.
To reduce the spread of infection from room to room, some patient units at UAMS have been fitted with the ability to have negative air pressure. This allows air to flow into the patient’s room but not out of the room.
UAMS also has personnel tasked with monitoring the process of putting on and taking off personal protective equipment.
“These added layers of protection help us maintain the safest circumstances for our health care workers and patients,” Roberts said.
Roberts said UAMS already has an annual training requirement for infection control for staff, but the infection-prevention staff teamed with hospital leaders and the education department to provide video and hands-on training for personal protective equipment.
Another way the hospital worked to reduce the spread
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