Here Comes the Sun One of the things I remember is that we had these prayer circles in the emergency department. Before the shift, some of us would go into a room wearing our PPE—personal protective equipment—including masks. Somebody would get in the middle and pray—pray for all of us to be safe and pray that we would help our patients survive COVID-19. I remember watching family members look through a window in the back of the ICU as their family member was dying. I remember the fear in people’s eyes. I also remember the hope and the celebration when we got somebody out of the ICU. We played the Beatles song “Here Comes the Sun” every time somebody recovered from COVID-19 and left the ICU or hospital.
We are the Calvary I told a group of physicians at one of our meetings not to expect the cavalry to come, that we were it. We needed to band together and do whatever had to be done. We coordinated care on a system-wide level at Scripps, across our various medical clinics and five hospital campuses in San Diego County, that serve over a half-million patients annually. At Scripps Mercy Chula Vista, I interacted with our executive, administrative, and medical teams, as well as our technical and environmental services personnel. The South Bay area of the county was a challenge because Scripps is one of only two hospitals in the area, located just 10 miles from the international border. The area is a cross-cultural environment, mainly due to the proximity of the metropolitan populations of San Diego and Tijuana. Many people who live on the Mexican side of the border work on the U.S. side, and there are U.S. citizens living in nearby Baja California communities—many of whom we also treated.
During COVID-19, our oxygen tanks and face masks protected us, but the tanks were very loud. For medical teams trying to treat and communicate with patients and family members, often through a zoom call, it was difficult for us to hear each other.
Dr. Juan Tovar and medical team treating a COVID-19 patient and wearing personal protective equipment, including oxygen tanks at Scripps Mercy Hospital, Chula Vista, Calif. – June 16, 2020 (Photo courtesy Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista)
COVID Patient Discharged from Scripps Mercy Chula Vista ICU – April 2020 (Photo courtesy Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista)
226
San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 8 – Facing COVID-19
227
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator