![]() ![]() ![]() “It’s like a hotel room, but I don’t want to overuse it, so I only request it on the days that I’m working. Laura is living in a pop-up truck camper in the hospital parking lot and, more recently, a room meant to house families whose children are being treated, which the hospital recently made available to essential staff. “I only have one bathroom, so that’s not an option.” So Laura, like many other health care workers, just doesn’t really go home at all. “Some people are isolating within their houses, with a special bathroom and a special bedroom,” she says. “I've been spraying off with disinfectant, and then it's straight to the shower.” According to Laura, many of her coworkers are using this strategy as well, though she points out that it works best for people who live in bigger homes. We try to strip down as soon as possible when coming in the door, clothes straight to the laundry,” says an emergency department nurse who wished to remain anonymous for fear of workplace repercussions. “I live with my pregnant wife, son, and two dogs. The one family-safety measure all health care workers agree on is extreme hygiene. Those in charge also offer practical advice for limiting exposure, like switching from contact lenses to glasses so workers don’t have to touch their eyes, or tying back long hair so it doesn’t need to be adjusted. According to Danielle Zerr, division chief of pediatric infectious disease at Seattle Children’s Hospital, management has also been reinforcing that health care workers should be monitoring their health closely and getting tested for coronavirus. "We know hospitals are reinforcing infection control protocols that help keep providers safe, like hand hygiene and appropriate donning doffing of protective gowns,” says Akin Demehin, the American Hospital Association’s director of quality policy. But in the case of Covid-19, what health care workers do during their shifts impacts the people they interact with when they're done. Hospitals, like most workplaces, have a say in what their employees do on the job, but less of one when it comes to what they do once they leave. (Laura, like Val, asked that her full name not be used.) “But I don’t want to put them at risk or, God forbid, get them sick.” “I feel very guilty for not being there for my husband and child,” says Laura, a nurse in Portland, Oregon, whose son is 5 years old. With limited official guidance, health care workers have been making tough calls about how and how often it's safe to move between hospitals and clinics and homes full of people who might otherwise never be exposed to the disease. They don’t begrudge the threat to their own well-being, but many are concerned about transferring that risk-and, potentially, the novel coronavirus itself-to those around them: their coworkers and patients, yes, but also the families and friends waiting for them at home. While many Americans self-quarantine and socially isolate to avoid even a chance encounter with someone or something carrying Covid-19, health care professionals willingly expose themselves to the pandemic every day. ![]()
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