AS SUBURBAN HOSPITAL IN Bethesda prepared for its first COVID-19 patients, there were so many unknowns: How many beds would be needed? What kinds of treatment would work? How could staff remain safe around such a contagious disease? Dr. Atul Rohatgi, 44, a hospitalist—an internal medicine physician who cares for patients exclusively in the hospital setting— helped lead the response. “I went in and saw the first patient,” says Rohatgi, who donned the cumbersome but necessary personal protective equipment (PPE). “I know people were scared. I think them seeing me go in [the room] and saying ‘it’s OK’ probably went a long way to allay their fears.” Rohatgi shared his experience with colleagues and developed a manual for the hospital on how to care for COVID patients from admission to discharge. The digital document
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was constantly updated. Rohatgi would sift through the latest medical information about treatments and pass it along to his team of about 50 physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. “People tried to make the best of it. We have a group, for the most part, that is glasshalf-full, which goes a long way in times like this,” says Rohatgi, who feels he’s part of a close “work family” rather than a work team. “There definitely were times when people were crying and breaking down, but they relied on the others to pull them through.” Changing in and out of PPE between every patient could add up to more than an hour a day. “It was extremely draining and demoralizing,” Rohatgi says. It was hard to be heard, and sometimes he had to yell. Then there was the time he sneezed in his PPE. “I was like, ‘Oh no.’ It all blew back in my face.”
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 | BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM
Rohatgi, who has worked at Suburban for 16 years, grew up in Rockville, the son of two doctors. He says he was encouraged by how the hospital adapted during the crisis. For instance, his team found creative ways to blow off steam. At the end of a crazy day, Rohatgi sometimes would be corralled into doing a TikTok dance video with a group in a hospital hallway. “I said, ‘If it puts a smile on your face, I will complain, but I will do it,’ ” he says. After long shifts, Rohatgi says his home in Bethesda was a sanctuary. During the early weeks of the pandemic, he found that playing video games (such as Call of Duty) with his two teenagers was a good release. Plus, the family got a black Labrador-boxer mix, Clover, in March. “You come home and you get puppy kisses,” he says. “How can that not be a good thing?”
PHOTO BY LOUIS TINSLEY
DR. ATUL ROHATGI