Nurses share experiences inside Indianapolis hospitals

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — As more cases with the coronavirus appear in Indiana nurses are preparing to take on the pandemic at full force.

News 8 spoke to nurses who work at the top hospitals in Indianapolis and protected their identities so that they could freely speak on how they are being asked to handle the virus and what it is like inside the hospitals during a global pandemic.

News 8 assigned them pseudonyms: Jane, Sue and Laura.

One of the most frustrating parts of this process for the nurses is that not everyone is respecting the recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Laura said, “It is not something that I would be risking my family for. I am not going to work everyday to come home and see you at TJ Maxx shopping. That is not fair. If I am going to work and following the rules then you should be, too.”

Nationally, a large concern for health care workers is the lack of personal protective equipment. Hospitals in Indianapolis are also seeing that shortage and nurses believe the requirements for what they need to be wearing changes based on availability.

Laura said, “They are given at their shift one gown, you know, their gloves, mask, eye shield and everything like that. While they are changing gloves and washing thoroughly between patients, we don’t know if this is a droplet. You could have particles on your gown; you are going out one room, you are coming into another one. Are you cross-contaminating.”

With no clear end in sight and no relief, nurses worry that eventually they will have to start working without the necessary protective equipment.

Laura said, “Oh, we don’t have a mask for this. Oh, we don’t have supplies for this just because of this virus. It is not fair and it is endangering everybody, not just the people who are sick; like, it’s everybody.”

Patients who come into the hospital wanting testing are putting themselves and their families at risk of contracting the virus and inundating hospital staff taking away time from patients who need to be seen unrelated to the coronavirus.

Sue said, “If you can breathe and you don’t require medical intervention to breathe, please stay home.”

Now that the state can test more people on a daily basis, more positive tests results are coming in. Jane said, “I am worried about how people are going to react about how this virus progresses.”

Nurses don’t believe they are held to the same standards when it comes to the self-isolation that they ask of their patients.

Sue said, “Had a cough, sore throat, fever. They are not giving the nurses tests. They didn’t test her, and she had to come back to work. She wasn’t allowed to quarantine.”

Laura said, “We are I think looked at like a little more closely. But for patients we are saying like, oh, you can manage this at home, it is fine just stay home. But you are telling me to come in when i have one or two of the symptoms as well.”

As we learn more about the virus itself and the situation in Indiana continues to develop, these nurses say they believe they are prepared to take on the pandemic.

Laura said, “Within the hospital we are using our resources really well. We have a game plan in place should we need to use it and we have a command center already set up. If it is coming, then we are ready for it. We have brought in extra ventilators. We have brought in extra staff.”

Indiana coronavirus timeline