Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Photos: One day on the front lines of COVID-19

Monday, 9:23 a.m. EMT Emily Moran of Melrose and paramedic Ricky Cormio of Medford lifted an elderly patient who had a fever, a possible sign of COVID-19, onto a stretcher for transport to Mass General Hospital, their second call of the day.Monday, 11:15 a.m. Emily, Ricky, and EMT Mike O’Hara of Melrose helped placed a blanket on a woman who tested positive for COVID-19, as they prepared to transport her to the hospital.Monday, 12:03 p.m. With a break in between calls, Ricky disinfected the door handles that lead from the garage to the break room. He worked his way around the break room wiping off the couches, the coffee table, and all the surfaces that paramedics and EMTs frequently come into contact with as a safety measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.Monday, 2:44 p.m. Emily and Ricky wheeled an intoxicated and combative patient into Everett Hospital.Monday, 4:05 p.m. Emily and Ricky drove into a parking lot crowded with ambulances outside of Mass. General Hospital as they transported a patient from MGH Chelsea Urgent Care who was exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.Monday, 5:09 p.m. Ricky stood by the doors as he watched for his partner to back the ambulance into the garage.Monday, 2:26 p.m. An intoxicated woman covered her face as she argued with Everett Police officers and Emily about going to the hospital.Monday, 1:48 p.m. Emily leaned in to check on a patient’s breathing after he got nervous and pulled over to call 911 from his car because he felt short of breath. The man refused to go to the hospital to be checked out. “He said he’d rather take his chances than go to the hospital with all the virus around,” Emily said. She later explained that there has been a lot of anxiety recently because of coronavirus.Monday, 5:23 p.m. During a break between calls, Emily found time for a quick snack and Ricky filled out reports on his computer as Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh was interviewed live on CNN about Boston’s response to the coronavirus.Monday, 5:30 p.m. Emily arrived at the door of a call.Monday, 5:36 p.m. As Emily secured a patient to a stretcher, a woman inside the home called out to say that he doesn’t have the coronavirus because he hasn’t had a fever.Monday, 5:38 p.m. A gust of wind caught the plastic gown that Ricky used for protection as Emily reached out to fasten the ties so that he can get in the back of the ambulance with a patient. A woman in the patient’s home had shouted out to tell them that he did not have coronavirus, but they presume that anyone they help might be positive for COVID-19.Monday, 6:04 p.m. After helping to take a patient into the Melrose Wakefield Hospital Emergency Room, Emily returned to clean off every item that was used on the call. She sprayed disinfectant on a stair chair that was used to move the patient out of his home.Monday, 6:48 p.m. People watched from their windows as a suspected coronavirus patient was taken out of their apartment building on a stretcher and loaded into the ambulance.Monday, 6:47 pm - Cormio lifted a patient who was suspected to have coronavirus or COVID-19 into the back of the ambulance.Monday, 7:12 p.m. Ricky chatted with his wife, Tessa, who is seven months pregnant and works inside at CHA Everett Hospital as he disinfected the stretcher after dropping a patient off at the emergency room there during his 24-hour shift. The couple kept their distance out of concerns over COVID-19.Monday, 7:26 p.m. Ricky placed an order for dinner at a restaurant still doing takeout during his 24-hour shift.Monday, 7:29 p.m. Emily and Ricky left CHA Everett Hospital only to be turned around after driving a few blocks to transport a patient from the Everett hospital to Beth Israel.Monday, 9:25 pm - Cormio walked back to the kitchen inside the break room at Cataldo after finally having a chance to sit down and eat dinner.Monday, 9:26 pm - Fellow EMT Steve Leonard (R) joked that he bought Moran (L) a cake for her birthday, which in reality had been donated to the station by a local bakery as she and Cormio took a break.Monday, 10:16 p.m. Emily filled out reports during a lull in their 24-hour shift.Monday, 10:17 p.m. EMT Mike O’Hara napped between calls in the Cataldo break room.Monday, 11:04 p.m. Emily and Mike O’Hara stood outside of a call for an unstable person while Ricky was inside with a Malden police officer talking to the person and making sure he wasn’t posing a threat to himself or others.Tuesday, 1:27 a.m. A long exposure caused the emblems on the back of the ambulance to blur en route to a call in Somerville.Tuesday, 1:36 a.m. Ricky put on his N95 mask to protect himself from coronavirus as he escorted a patient to the ambulance.Tuesday, 6:50 a.m. Ricky (right) handed off his radio to the next crew as his shift came to an end.Tuesday, 6:59 a.m. Emily and Ricky said goodbye to a fellow EMT as they headed home at the end of their 24-hour shift.[NDN/ccn/comedia Links]
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