HEROES DURING THE PANDEMIC . But what happens when THEY ’ RE THE ONES IN NEED OF CARE ?
a Toll
By LAUREN CLEM
ILLUSTRATION BY BRENDAN TOTTEN
HELENE MACEDO DIDN ’ T THINK ABOUT IT
MUCH WHEN HER HEADACHE STARTED AROUND NOON . It was Oct . 26 , 2020 , and the nurse and case manager at Rhode Island Hospital was in the midst of a very busy Monday . Elective surgeries had resumed at hospitals around the state , but COVID-19 was still in full swing , and case numbers were beginning to creep toward a winter surge . Nursing homes were still seeing waves of infection , and Macedo was having trouble finding somewhere to discharge patients when they left hospital care . A nurse in the intensive care unit , operating room and recovery room for three decades before shifting to case management in 2018 , she knew the importance of getting healthy patients out of the hospital quickly to free up beds for newer , sicker ones coming in . ☛
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MAY 2022 51