Who helps the helpers? Why health care workers need 'emotional PPE' (TODAY)

Karen Clemmer 8/16/2011:50 AM

By Meghan Holohan & Tony Bauer, August 14, 2020, TODAY.

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

As an emergency room nurse, Kristin Dorow thought she understood the complexities of her job. Each shift brought a different, and sometimes exciting, challenge but she felt adept at quickly assessing and treating a patient. When COVID-19 patients started flooding her Austin, Texas area hospital, work — and life — started getting tougher.

“It’s just this physical and mental exhaustion … (I'm) constantly going through in my mind, ‘Is that person sick? Am I at risk?’” Dorow, 39, told TODAY. “I’ve seen my co-workers and myself cry. It’s just overwhelming and it’s scary. You don’t really have an outlet."

[Please click here to read more.]

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