toll on her mental health. "I'm usually such a stable, happy person, but
I looked forward to when my travel assignment would end," she says.
"I had never thought that way before."
As the de facto gatekeeper to the ER, Ms. Dyer had to inform patients
and their family members of the hospital's strict no-visitor policy. The
task was uncomfortable, but doable until she had to separate a Vietnam
vet from his wife. Ms. Dyer's voice cracked at the memory. "Sorry, I'm
not usually an emotional person," she says. "It was awful. She was des-
perate to be with him, and I was ripping them apart."
The workplace anxiety caused her to stop sleeping soundly, and her
hair began to fall out. Ms. Dyer's extended family, fearful of being
exposed to the virus, began to isolate from her. "I completely under-
stand why they did it, but it was when I needed them the most," she
says. "I was trying to put on a brave face to be the best nurse I could
be, but it's been one of the most stressful times of my life."
Safe surgery?
Throughout the outbreak, surgical professionals have continued to
perform emergent surgeries. Andrea Marquis Farrar, CRNA, says the
anesthesia team at Central Maine Medical Center assumes every
patient is infected with the coronavirus and intubates each one, no
matter how minor the procedure, to create a sealed airway and elimi-
nate exposure risks in the OR.
Anesthesia providers are inches away from the airway and in the
direct path of virus particles that become aerosolized during intuba-
tion. During intubation, Ms. Marquis Farrar wears two sets of gloves,
eye protection, a face shield, and a regular surgical mask over an N95.
She also uses a video laryngoscope, which lets her stand upright while
viewing the airway on a separate monitor instead of leaning inches
away from the patient's mouth while inserting a standard laryngo-
3 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A Y 2 0 2 0
