Campus Feature
Healthcare
HEROES COVID-19 has disrupted our world and no one knows that better than the medical professionals who see it every day. In the next few pages of this magazine, several members of our school community who work in the field of healthcare share firsthand their observations, challenges and sources of inspiration. Thank you to everyone in the Darlington Community and beyond who has dedicated their life to caring for those in need. You are heroes!
As an emergency medicine resident at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Jack Yancey’s (’10) focus with all patients is resuscitation and stabilization. “This is particularly important with COVID-19 patients or any patients presenting with respiratory distress,” he said. “The spectrum of disease severity is wide, so this can range from immediate intubation and ICU care to observation, reassurance, and discharge home after discussing what to expect and when patients need to return to seek medical care. Working as a resident in the middle of a global pandemic has opened my eyes to just how quickly medicine can change.”
Blair (Stegall) Bowden (’03), a cardiac nurse at Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital Advanced Heart Failure Center in Atlanta, says it has been a humbling season to serve as a nurse. “We have been seeing more and more of our patients who have contracted the virus and have thankfully recovered. However, in some cases, the virus has caused a worsening of their heart failure, which has been a challenge for many of our affected patients,” she
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said. “Patients and families have been gracious to ask about my well-being during this time, and have brought us extra food and snacks as a token of their appreciation. The community has rallied around us, posting signs of encouragement and support. In such divisive times, it has been refreshing to see the community come together in supporting each other.”
