Boxes of gear in her office protect patients and staff
Carrie Homuth, 49
• Manager, adult intensive care units, 23 years • Royal Jubilee Hospital and Victoria General Hospital • Married with two grown children
Carrie Homuth shares her office with boxes of personal protective equipment.
In the early days of the pandemic, she was tasked with planning for the intensive-care units of Vancouver Island’s two main hospitals, which felt like being at war, she says.
If she was to protect patients, she had to first protect staff. At first, it was not clear how much gear they had or how much they could attain in a global pandemic. “My office got turned into a warehouse,” says Homuth. Back-up equipment was stockpiled and kept under lock and key.
With the boxes under her nose, her department knew exactly how much they had for how many staff, patients and procedures. “That gave us a sense of control and took away a lot of fear,” she says.
Planning went into overdrive in March. How would the hospitals treat 100 patients requiring intensive-care services? How would they get enough personal protective equipment?
“The pressure was on us to prepare as much as we could,” Homuth says.
Rallying the troops meant being able to ensure they would be safe coming to work. Staff were being asked to potentially care for hundreds or even thousands of sick and dying.
“It was stressful,” Homuth says. “At that time, it seemed like every day was a gift to get a little more preparation done and now it’s a gift that the worst hasn’t happened.”
As the daily number of new COVID-19 cases on Vancouver Island wanes, Homuth says officials are continuing to plan for a potential second wave in the late fall, combined with influenza season.
“It’s a constant tension between planning for what is unimaginable and dealing with what’s in front of you,” says Homuth, who had taken only five days off over seven weeks.
“Sleep isn’t really happening anymore. I think as much as you step away from work physically, emotionally and mentally, it still plays in your mind 24/7.”
Homuth says she’s either in her office, car or house, oblivious of the outside world.
The pandemic has forced the postponement of her son’s wedding, planned for Merridale cidery this summer.
“That’s a little sad.”