CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nurses remain on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, putting everyone they come in contact with at-risk including family.
Charleston Area Medical Center ICU Nurse Manager Candance Cowger appeared on Monday’s MetroNews ‘Talkline’ and shared how herself, other nurses and families are being affected.
“I have an 8-year-old son that I have actually had to send to my parents and I have seen him once in four weeks. That’s been a very serious issue for me,” Cowger said.
She said there are many questions that circle in the heads of nurses everywhere and their families.
“There are definitely moments of uneasiness with the unknown future of ‘Am I going to get the virus, am I going to expose somebody else to the virus, am I going to bring the virus home to my family,” Cowger said.
Cowger expressed pride in all the nurses she is working with at CAMC. She said that information about the virus changes daily which changes how they work.
She said nurses have stepped up even with the data on the virus showing how the spread is based on viral load, the longer one person is around the other.
“We have been able to get that new information out to the front staff promptly with the changes that have occurred and information that they (nurses) need to take care of the patients safely,” Cowger said.
“They have been willing to step up in whatever they need to do. They have taken on this challenge successfully.”
Candace Cowger, nurse manager of the ICU at CAMC, speaks with @HoppyKercheval about combating COVID-19 on the front lines. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/WIwvgV06D0
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) April 20, 2020