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Fighting Coronavirus: Sacramento Nurse Speaks About Changes In ICU

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Our nurses and doctors are risking their lives every day when they go to work.

Heather Donaldson is a critical care nurse at a Sacramento area hospital. She typically sees 1-2 critically ill patients during a 12-hour shift.

"We are healthcare professionals and we are an amazing team of individuals that are willing to put it out on the line and take care of public health," critical care nurse Heather Donaldson said. "We're trained for this. It's unprecedented and we're working it out."

Donaldson says when caring for those patients, she is required to put on and take off protective equipment several times a day, sometimes several times an hour.

"We are doing ok, for the time being. We were expecting a surge and we still are expecting a surge, but we are not being impacted as much as different areas like New York, Chicago, Louisiana," Donaldson said.

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She attributes that to people following social distancing guidelines and changes made within the state's hospitals.

"Businesses are closed, elective procedures are done, there's no visitors at hospitals. We've made a lot of changes, and it's working," Donaldson said.

And she's made a lot of changes in her routine when she gets home from the ICU.

"I remove my clothing, I put it in the washer, I don't take anything in the house with me that I wore to work, I wash my hands, I take a shower. So it's a big change. I didn't do any of that before," Donaldson said.

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Her recommendation to all of us is to take this seriously and wear a mask when out in public.

"Listen, I'm a pretty healthy individual, I wear a mask, and everybody should be wearing a mask. It prevents a pathogen from getting to another person and from you getting a pathogen. It's a barrier, it just makes sense," Donaldson said.

A first-hand account from a first responder, and a message to us all to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

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