empty streets of New York City

Hotspot: New York City

Kelly Casler answered the call to help with the COVID-19 crisis in New York City in April. Here’s what it was like.

by Susan Neale

The patient, a man in his 30s who had just been taken off the ventilator, was nervous and scared. He didn’t know what was happening or what they would do with him next, and he didn’t speak English. Kelly Casler, who was volunteering in the busy New York City ICU, found an interpreter and held the patient’s hand. As she sought to reassure him, the PA system blared the song “Empire State of Mind,” the ICU’s way of celebrating a good outcome. “There’s nothing you can’t do, now you’re in New York!”

“That’s for you!” she told him.

The other nurses cheered, and the man smiled.

Casler hoped he could see her smile in her eyes. “It’s hard because a smile goes a long way, but the patients can’t see your smile in a mask," she said later. "To be sick and not know what's going on – I can only imagine what that's like."

Last April, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing Kelly Casler, DNP, APRN-CNP, CHSE, volunteered 80 hours of service in nine days in New York City, a hotspot in the COVID-19 pandemic. “I felt like I needed to go, not just for the patients but for my nursing colleagues,” she said. “Usually you would have a bad shift like that every couple of weeks. These colleagues are having that shift every day.”

New York City seemed oddly quiet with few cars on the street, but everywhere she went, people expressed gratitude. On the street and in the hotel elevator, New Yorkers saw her in scrubs and thanked her. The nurses she came to help were grateful, too. “Just me being there as a volunteer helped them so much mentally, and I didn’t expect that,” she said. “I underestimated the power of somebody going there and saying, ‘I’m here to help.’”

Excerpts from the blog Casler kept on Facebook of her New York experience:
Kelly Casler wearing face mask on street in New York
Kasler on her first day of service in New York.

April 17

Day One complete. Orientation, N95 fitting and then helped in one of the ICUs for the afternoon. The nurses mentored me with updates on any bedside skills I hadn’t done since teaching bedside nursing a few years ago, and it’s awesome how quickly all the bedside skills are coming back. It really is like riding a bike. I’m a bit slow, but I am still helpful and safe! The positive of the day was the pretty view of the river/skyline from the patient rooms. Everyone is so nice and grateful for the help and there is amazing teamwork. I saw orthopedic residents that have become the “proning team”! The nurses are glad to have help this week – I guess it was pretty hairy two weeks ago. The hardest part of the whole thing is how hard you have to pay attention when donning/doffing PPE so you don’t contaminate yourself …

Kelly Casler and her friends wearing PPE making heart shapes with their hands
Kasler, left, and her new friends love New York!

April 19

Today, I experienced what the news is telling you. The healthcare system is overwhelmed here. It’s hard to keep up with patient needs because nurses are taking care of more patients than they usually do … While there are a few shortages of supplies, it is the shortage of healthcare professionals that seems to be the biggest challenge. I am amazed with the nurses, respiratory therapist, and physicians I am working with. Everyone is exhausted but they reach down deep to “just keep swimming." People chip in to do things they don’t normally do. I’ve met ophthalmologists and dermatologists who are running dialysis. Everyone is taking a deep breath, stepping outside their comfort zone, and just doing what needs to be done. … And finally, some kind soul donated some 3D printed face masks today which are much sturdier than the other I had. Whoever & where ever you are – thank you!

 

Celebrate New York with Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind! Live from Times Square:

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