Скачать или смотреть Exclusive report reveals life as the head nurse at NTU Hospital quarantine ward

The front-line heroes of Taiwan''s response to COVID-19 are the nurses who work in quarantine wards, taking care of the sickest patients hour after hour, day after day, all while risking their own health and safety. We go now to a special report from National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, where we were given exclusive access to a quarantine ward. We meet the head nurse, Pan Mei-yen, and find out just what life is like at the center of the storm. This is the quarantine ward at NTU Hospital. Access is extremely restricted.The nurses here all share one mission: to take care of patients who have, or are suspected of having, COVID-19.Putting on personal protective gear takes a full 10 minutes, but no one moans about the laborious process. In a moment they’re going into the ward, where the smallest chink in their protection could let the virus in. They take the gear on and off at least six times a day. N95 masks leave bruises on their faces.Pan Mei-yenNTU Hospital head nurseI always tell them, “You must stay calm. And once you’re calm, then we’ll do all the protective procedures extremely carefully. And you’re all going to get through this in one piece.”Head nurse Pan is the cornerstone of NTU Hospital’s quarantine ward. She takes care of her stressed-out team, at the same time as watching the screens to keep tabs on all the patients’ conditions.Pan Mei-yenNTU Hospital head nurseAs a nurse you take care of every patient like a member of your family. You don’t think to yourself, “You’re going to infect me.” No, all you think about is getting this person better as soon as possible.This is Pan’s 25th year at NTU Hospital. She was in a ward for severe SARS cases during the epidemic in 2003. In 2016 she became the head nurse for the Infectious Diseases department. On Jan. 21 this year, the first COVID-19 patient was admitted to the hospital. She immediately became the head of the quarantine ward: the most dangerous place in the hospital.Pan Mei-yenNTU Hospital head nurseMy husband is a military veteran. When I got the job as the head nurse of the quarantine ward, he said, “This is your mission.” As the head of the team, my first priority is to protect my nurses, keep them safe and get them all safe at the end of the day.The nurses are, of course, worried about taking the virus home to their families. But as Pan describes her family’s support, you can hear the pride in her voice. The last three months have been tough on her physically, but mentally, she’s as strong as ever. She dons the gear to go back in the ward once more: her selfless determination a lifeline for her patients, her colleagues, and for Taiwan.