Caller · moment 9 of 11
Vanessa the Nurse on Hospital Panic and Supply Shortages
from Emergency Broadcast - Corona Call-Ins
4 min
Caller
A nurse caller named Vanessa describes chaotic 'mob mentality' at her hospital, EMS workers showing up in full protective gear, and supplies being rationed and stolen by people who don't need them.
- Vanessa works as a general medicine inpatient nurse, not in the ER.
- Hospitals see a surge of people convinced they have coronavirus, identifiable by how EMS dresses them in full protective gear.
- The panic spreads through mob mentality—staff start freaking out after seeing others freak out, perpetuating anxiety.
- No confirmed cases yet at her hospital, but patients present with cough, body aches, and general sickness indistinguishable from flu.
- The coronavirus test involves a nasal swab as part of a full respiratory panel.
- Vanessa is less paranoid than colleagues, though staff are on high alert about a potential case currently under evaluation.
- Suspected coronavirus patients are isolated in private rooms and require all staff to wear masks, face shields, and follow strict protocols.
- Hospital privacy rules prevent nurses from knowing which patients are suspected cases unless they're directly assigned to care for them.
- Supplies are already being rationed despite the surge still ramping up.
- Staff from other units steal masks and supplies they don't need, leaving nurses working in close contact with coughing patients without adequate protection.