Healthcare Portrait Project
Matt Wright started the Healthcare Portrait Project in April 2020 to “recognize people who are working in healthcare during this pandemic.” Matt writes: “I have friends and family members who are working in several different capacities of healthcare during this pandemic, so the issue especially hits home for me. This is my way of making sure that their work and dedication are not overlooked.”
Dr. Shah
Dr. Shah is a primary care physician. Her scope of practice includes caring for patients of all ages, including addiction treatment and prenatal care.
“During the COVID pandemic, I see my most important duty as keeping patients at home and out of the hospital. I am now making a point of asking my patients what they are doing to socially distance, and reviewing basic public health recommendations with them. My goal during this extraordinary time is to address my patients’ medical needs over the phone as best I can and avoid a trip to the emergency room. Minimizing in-person visits is the best tool I have right now to save lives and prevent the spread of COVID.”
Dashia, EMT
Dashia has been and EMT for 20 years. [Matt] met with her and her partner, Hailey who is Dashia’s wife, after they finished transporting a Covid-19+ patient.
“For the first time since I started doing this job I’m scared. I’m scared of my job. I take every precaution to keep everyone else around me safe. I never thought I would live through something like this. It’s exhausting to do the calls. The PPE, the decontamination process and of course our patient care.”
Brian, RN
Brian has been an acute care RN for 20 years prior to that he worked in EMS.
“I’m now caring for a high risk, medically co-morbid population at a Level IV Detox hospital, many of whom either present with or have developed COVID-19 illness while inpatient. ‘We continue to actively care for patients amidst PPE shortages and other operational challenges. Our clinical and ancillary staff continue to place the health of our patients first and remain hopeful that together, we will pull through this together.”
Natalia and Netlin, X-Ray Technologists
Natalia on working with Netlin: “Having both myself and my husband working in frontline healthcare at this time is both very difficult and comforting in a way. We both have the same fears and concerns about potentially bringing the virus home to each other, our daughters and family who are caring for our daughters while we work through this.
We are both trying to juggle the challenge of working full time (13 hour shifts), home schooling our girls, and managing the roller coaster of emotions that this situation is bringing, along with supporting each other as husband and wife. We both experience and face the same/similar challenges both at work and at home.
We find the most comfort in each other. There is no other person on this earth right now who could better understand what this experience is like for me in ask aspects, more than my husband. I find comfort in being able to come home and talk to him about my day or my feelings and know that he COMPLETELY understands what I’m talking about and can relate to it all.”