Nurse Loretta Schmidt and Jennifer Oliver Houin share stories of COVID-19 heartbreak
MARSHALL COUNTY — During a press conference Thursday “Marshall County Community Partners Come Together to Fight COVID- 19”, Chief Nursing Officer with Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS) Loretta Schmidt introduced herself as a nurse, a mother, a grandmother, a wife, a friend, a member of the community and a citizen.
“I have the amazing honor and privilege of serving this community as the Chief Nursing Officer for our Health System,” she said. “With that comes a great amount of responsibility and accountability that I take very seriously.”
With that responsibility, Schmidt asked individuals, the community and the public to adhere to the safety restrictions set in place by the Governor and county officials across the region to prevent the spread of COVID19. Those safety precautions include wearing a mask, social distancing, and washing hands.
Schmidt described the stories she is hearing as “heartbreaking”. “as I listen and interact and have conversations with those who are closest to your loved one when they are under our care.
Some of the stories that I am hearing are absolutely heart breaking; heart wrenching.”
She shared the story of a nurse who comforted a dying COVID19 patient when their family was too overwhelmed to stay by their side. “One of our nurses who spent her entire shift recently caring for a COVID patient who was at their end of life. and she gave her all. Gave her all to this patient and to this family. The family was there with the patient but found themselves in a position of unable to manage through the
grief and the sorrow and the suffering of the moment. So they had to leave.
This nurse then surrounded that patient with love and compassion that this patient deserved in their final hours. This nurse sat by his bedside, held his hand and prayed and talked and was just with him all the way until after he had his final breath.”
Schmidt detailed that after her shift, the nurse was ridiculed for wearing protective gear tending to the needs of her own family. “After that the nurse went home to her family. The nurse then, just being exhausted and needing some essential supplies for her own home, thought that she’d stop and get those supplies. While she was getting those supplies this nurse was wearing her mask. This nurse was being a responsible community member. This nurse was protecting others from the spread of this disease.
This nurse was ridiculed. This nurse was made fun of. This nurse was cussed at. This nurse was belittled. This nurse felt threatened for her own safety. This isn’t the only story that we’re hearing that this is happening to.”
Schmidt said that this incident was not unique; but that there are other stories from other healthcare workers who have had similar experiences. “We are hearing other stories from other healthcare workers that find themselves in the same place as this nurse. That they are doing the responsible thing. That they are surrounding your family, your loved one with the care and the compassion that they have committed their lives to. But yet when they are out in the community and interacting and being responsible and distancing and wearing masks and doing all the things that we know to do; they are treated with belittling remarks and threats.”
She challenged the community to stand up against such behavior. “That is not the community I live in. I just refuse to believe that that is the community that we all live in. That we all are a part of. We are better than that. We are in this journey together. We have to rise up together and unite together to fight this disease.”
“It will take every single one of us acting as we continue to journey through this illness and we wait for that day when this disease is eradicated and destroyed. There are so many things we can do with the waiting. It matters what we do. We have the power to influence the future. We have the power to change the course of history.”
Schmidt stated, “So, please, we are asking that you act; that you act in a way that will unite us together and fight this disease in the way that we know we can.”
Schmidt then introduced Jennifer Oliver Houin who lost her beloved father Jack Oliver to COVID19. Schmidt said, “Jenny has had a personal experience with this disease. An experience that hits deep, hits home. We just can’t thank you enough Jenny for your willingness to be here today. To be vulnerable. To be real. To be human and just share your experience with COVID.”
[A small portion of Jennifer’s experience was inaudible toward the beginning.] Houin cried as she shared the anguish of her loss, “He was there by himself. And having the best care. We counted on those people at Saint Joe to watch over our father. Unfortunately his sickness was too bad and he could not pull through to keep living on his legacy with our family.
So, today I am begging you and others of our community to please put your masks on. Please stay home. Please protect others. Because you never know it could be your dad, your grandfather, or your brother. But I want to thank all of you for coming together for this and making this possible. Because there are a lot of people that need help and I want them to get the help that my dad did.
In Jesus name I pray for all of you.”