I didn’t write today’s post. My healthcare worker sister-in-law did. Hopefully she doesn’t mind that I’m sharing what she posted on Facebook earlier this week.
These past few days here in Cleveland area we experienced a surge. This surge was our massive amount of snow which came on quickly and remained steady. What I saw was that there was a finite amount of resources to handle the magnitude of this snow event. People expecting their snow removal had to wait and when their “guy” wasn’t coming, many calls were reported to the business. People were trapped in their homes. Many homes lost power, losing heat. Who would be first to get power on? Did they have to move a down tree first across the road to get where they were going? Were there enough utility workers to handle this extensive situation? Their jobs have a level of risk and expertise that is not easily duplicated. We needed to wait for the people who knew how to fix this be able to do the task.
This surge of snow with finite resources for a great need made me reflect on how a surge upon surge of Covid patients would be experienced in our healthcare system. I witnessed how people reacted with this snow storm. The inconvenience of this snow storm will be gone soon. But, If we can’t handle waiting our turn for the snow plow truck or utility worker, imagine waiting for a doctor, nurse, respiratory therapist and a bed to be in. We are all weary of the Stay Safe covid restrictions. I see these restrictions as as a way to change the magnitude of this Covid storm. The healthcare workers like the snow plow driver, are working as fast as they can in an overwhelming situation but can be only in one place at a time. Wouldn’t you rather not need them? Wouldn’t you rather not contribute to the storm?
