This is her third city working on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic, as Arizona offers a new location but a similar challenge.
Ronnie Rodriguez, a travel nurse, previously worked in hospitals in New York and Florida during the pandemic. She came to Arizona and started working at a Valley hospital a few weeks ago.
“We are overwhelmed,” Rodriguez said. ‘We [emergency rooms] is maximum; they open units that are not normally used. ‘
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Rodriguez told ABC15 the scene at Valley Hospital is all too familiar.
“It’s just as busy as anywhere,” she said. “I don’t think it’s as chaotic as New York, but compared to South Florida it’s very similar. I feel like it’s a little more structured here so it can definitely make a difference.”
In treating some COVID-19 patients who are able to talk, Rodriguez said some have similar stories dating from Thanksgiving gatherings.
‘They’re like’ we got together ‘, and a family member was maybe asymptomatic, and they had no symptoms, so everyone thought they were right and then someone tested positive after the holidays and everyone in the family came down with it, ‘she said.
Rodriguez also said it’s not just about what she sees on the front line, but also what she hears.
“Most hospitals are ‘code blue,'” Rodriguez said. “So if you hear ‘code blue,’ it’s probably someone who’s stopped breathing somewhere. then you know it once a day. But now it’s eight, ten, twelve times a shift. It’s a lot. “
Rodriguez also said that COVID-19 affects her not only professionally but also personally, as both of her parents are in the hospital fighting the virus in Florida. She said her father is still in the ICU.
“I have to worry about COVID-19, when I’m at work or at home here in Arizona,” she said. “It’s hard when it’s … your own family members. Make it [another] level of difficult. “
However, she is determined to help fight the boom in Arizona.
“Nursing is a calling,” Rodriguez said. ‘This is what I have to do here. I have to. Must help. ‘