When Keri Noeske, the director of care management at Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia, asked her nurses and nursing assistants to sign up for shifts at a nursing home besieged by COVID-19, she was surprised by the quick response.
“We didn’t even have to really work hard for people to say ‘yes I’m willing to sacrifice and I’m willing to be there’,” Noeske said.
More than 160 residents and staff have tested positive for the coronavirus at Redwood Springs Healthcare Center in Visalia; ten residents have died as of April 16. And if the nursing home had to shut down due to understaffing, medical facilities could potentially be overwhelemed with a surge of patients, said Noeske. That’s why it made sense to help the facility with staffing.
Noeske said more than 25 employees offered to take shifts at Redwood Springs and any other nursing home facility in the county that needs extra staffing due to COVID-19.
“They are motivated by what motivates most healthcare workers, that need to take care of others,” Noeske said.
Carly Anderson was the first RN to do a couple shifts at Redwood Springs. Anderson is a float nurse at Kaweah Delta, which means she’s trained to go wherever she’s needed in the hospital. So it didn’t seem like a huge leap to sign up to help.
“It kind of fell into my job description anyway,” she said. “You know, a float nurse goes to help wherever they’re short staffed.”
While at Redwood Springs, she said she helped residents FaceTime with their families.
“They’re missing their families,” she said. “It was a good experience to be able to help with that.”
And she'll do more shifts if needed. “I feel like I’m excited to go to work, and be a part of something bigger,” she said. “I’m happy to do it. I’m happy to help.”
Noeske said the administrators at Redwood Springs have also jumped in to take care of patients. “So they didn’t run away. They stayed and took care of what they had to take care of,” she said.
Anita Hubbard, Redwood Spring’s Administrator, said in a statement she is thankful for the support. “We are grateful to all of those who have been willing to help,” she said. “This is definitely a collaborative effort.”
Another nursing home, Lindsay Gardens Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility, confirmed an outbreak this week. Kaweah Delta has also reached out to that facility to offer additional staff, said Noeske.
“I said, ‘don’t let the staffing component of your response get away from you. We can help support you with staff’,” Noeske said.
