Life as a Healthcare Professional
During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Text & Photos By Clarisa Melendez

As  Covid 19 rips through communities, straining vital resources and testing an already beleaguered health care system, many medical professionals, including doctors, nurses and dentists, unaccustomed to front line emergency work, are being called into action to join a combined community response.  The following are accounts from four of these professionals in the Florida area who have joined the pandemic effort and agreed to share they experiences as they adapt to their new crisis occupations.

Dr. Ada Seminario Valle - Dentist

Photo courtesy: Ada Seminario

C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics - Dental Services

Palm Beach, FL- At 7:30 AM, Ada Seminario, 47, is ready to conduct Covid-19 testing at the first drive-thru testing site in Palm Beach County that opened on March 31st . She works alongside a clinical team of 20 members to perform the task. Three separate tents are set up. The patient drives up to the first tent to receive a printed registration, then at the second tent they receive the testing kit, and at the third tent they are tested.

“In the beginning it was nerve wracking,” Seminario said. “In my daily job this is not something I normally perform.”

All efforts from her team have been focalized on the pandemic. Out of the four dental clinics, there is now only one operating for emergency dental procedures two days a week. The rest of the team is helping with testing and has undergone specialized training.

Seminario works the morning session for a total of six hours, where she tests about 200 patients a day on average. Fast forward four weeks, and now she says they are lacking P.P.E.  “At first we had the best gowns,” the 47-year-old said. Now as supplies dwindle, they are using a gown that does not cover their neck.

Alike to her teammates, she is reusing her N-95 masks, which offers the highest protection, in fear that they will run out. After long hours of work, she says the gear begins to feel uncomfortable. “One of my hands has a reaction to the gloves."

She stands under a tent and relies only to a fan and a warm breeze to help her cool off. “The heat was unbearable,” Seminario said, adding that sweat drips down her forehead making her face itch. She waits until her shift is over until she is allowed to clean off.

“You just have to keep moving,” she said, “after just two hours I was just dragging my feet.” Seminario describes the process to be draining as she is not allowed to drink water or go to the bathroom when she is testing.

Before heading home to care of her six-year-old daughter, she takes precautions by changing out of her uniform and into new clothes.

Despite the challenges she remains grateful to be of service to others. “We are really happy to be there and help the community even if its not our scope of practice.”

Julia Le – Medical Assistant

Photos courtesy: Julia Le

Orlando, FL- Growing up Julia Le, 22,  says she always knew she wanted to care for others. In October 2019, she began working as a medical assistant at AdventHealth, a nonprofit healthcare system in Orlando with the intention to eventually go to medical school.

Now, as a front-line worker conducting Covid-19 tests at a Macy’s parking lot at Millenia Mall, she says this pandemic has solidified her purpose in life. “It only confirmed that I had picked something that I felt called to my entire life and it's to serve people.”

On average her team tests about 200 people daily.  But in the first week they tested 600 people in one day.   The high numbers has meant a shortage of personal protective equipment (P.P.E)  forcing them to improvise in order to conserve.

“They’re squirting hand sanitizers on the gloves, ” Le said.

At home, her family members are considered high-risk, so Le says it creates some uneasiness for her. She lives with her 92-year-old grandfather, and her mother who is in her late 50's and has high blood pressure. Her father is in his 60's, and Le says despite her concerns, she’s thankful her family remains calm and is following safety measures.

“My family immigrated over here from Vietnam and have gone through a lot of hardships,” Le said, adding that they remain hopeful, “the pandemic isn't something that easily shakes them.”

Although her family remains calm, she says she notices the frustrations firsthand at the testing site, especially from some patients toward her Asian colleagues.

As the coronavirus spreads, so does prejudice and incidents of bias against the Asian community. Le says during this unprecedented time, it’s important to support one another.

“Just remember during this time to be compassionate towards others,” Le said.

Kimberely Lucas - Registered Nurse

Orlando, FL-  Just last June, Kimberely Lucas, 23, became a registered nurse and is now working at the Orlando Regional Medical Center. She says she has had to learn early on in her career how everything can change so quickly.

“I think nurses, we kind of develop this innate ability to adapt on the fly,” she said.

Lucas says she is proud to be a nurse especially during this unprecedented time. It has taught her to rise to the occasion. She says in a hospital there is no typical day. As a nurse she has seen firsthand how quickly a patient can go from healthy to decompensating. If a teammate is falling behind, Lucas says they always support one another by bringing supplies when needed or helping reposition a patient. 

Lucas works in the vascular surgical department. She says only emergency-elected surgeries are being performed at the moment. Her 32-bed unit floor is now receiving more medically diverse patients than usual.

“The teamwork has been incredible,” she said. “Everyone's really kind of helping each other out in any way they can.”

If patients appear to have corona virus related symptoms they take extra precaution. “We treat them as if they have the virus until we get the results back,” Lucas said. They then move them to a specific floor so they are cared for by a team of doctors and staff readily available with the right resources at all times.

Lucas says her team is doing their best efforts to not be wasteful. “Our hospital is keeping really diligent track of every single item that's being used,” she said, as a way to know how much gear they will need to order in advance. She says she wears one mask a day.

Lucas lives with her boyfriend and her two roommates, who are also heath care professionals that graduated from the same nursing program. She says she’s taking extra safety measures.

“My boyfriend does have asthma and I wouldn't want to bring in anything from the hospital into our home,” she said. For this reason, she began removing her scrubs in the garage and keeping her shoes in a box.

Mirela Arapi - Surgical Technician

Jacksonville, FL- For the past 13 years, Mirela Arapi, 52, has been working as a surgical technician in the Labor and Delivery Unit at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Her usual tasks include working in the operating room and assisting doctors with cesarean sections. Now with the pandemic, increased measures are being taken to ensure safety. A purple piece of paper is placed outside the door window to signal the room houses a patient with corona virus.

Currently, two rooms have been specially designated for mothers in labor who are infected. Two nurses are designated per pregnant mother. One nurse works directly with the patient by entering the room, meanwhile the second nurse hands them any necessities. Arapi says this helps decrease contamination and the amount of personal protection equipment being used.

The protocol has also shifted. In addition, as an employee, her temperature is checked every morning before entering the hospital. All employees, from doctors to maintenance workers are required to wear a mask throughout the whole day.

Arapi says she puts her fear aside to focus on being calm in emergency situations. “If we are scared to do our job, everything is going to be wrong,” she said, adding that she feels a responsibility to help others. 

Just last year, Arapi overcame breast cancer. In February she started chemotherapy and by July she began radiation. In August, she completed the process and was already back at the front line of the healthcare system. 

“We have to work. This is my job” she said. “ It is scary for me, and God is protecting me now. I have to do my job.”