Table 1.
Quotations That Exemplify Nursing Home Staff’s Experiences with Caring for Residents with COVID-19
| Quotations |
| Q1 They wouldn’t let facilities come to clean the rooms because of isolation. So, I had to do everything. A resident has diarrhea and we are cleaning them, changing their clothes, cleaning the room. You name it, I have done it. (RN) |
| Q2 I am tired. I am exhausted. I have been taking care of COVID patients since March. I called in for a “personal day” on Wednesday because I was tired. But they don’t care. (CNA) |
| Q3 We had agency workers floating to all floors and weren’t wearing face shields. (LPN) |
| Q4 I was told that I was working on a “green unit,” but they had me floating to “yellow” units all the time. (LPN) |
| Q5 We wore the same gown for an entire shift. When there weren’t enough gowns, I wore a lab coat. I am 5’3”, 140 pounds, and the lab coats were too big. The top came down to my sternum, so I had to wear it backwards. As you can imagine, it was difficult to wear while taking care of patients. (Activities aide) |
| Q6 Once there were confirmed cases, there was no education on where we should be donning and doffing PPE. There was a lot of misinformation and confusion floating around. It was incredibly disorganized. We did not know when we should be cleaning equipment and where we should be cleaning. (CNA) |
| Q7 It was so confusing. Every day it [PPE requirements/rules] was different. You never knew for sure. It was hard to decipher. (CNA) |
| Q8 I don’t understand. I did everything right. How did I get the virus? (CNA) |
| Q9 I am extremely concerned about going back to work and catching this again. (LPN) |
| Q10 I had to protect my family. (Physical therapist) |
| Q11 We couldn’t get surgical masks. They give you only 1 mask and that is ridiculous…I put myself at risk, I work 12-hour shifts and I did everything I could, but I still got it. (RN) |
| Q12 With all our risks it’s ridiculous because everyone has rules. It depends on who you work with. I know how to get masks, but others don’t. I just get what I need. (RN) |
| Q13 I care for my residents. They don’t have anyone. I had to hold the hands of 2 of my residents when they were dying. That was hard. (CNA) |
Note. RN, registered nurse; CNA, certified nursing assistant; LPN, licensed practical nurse.