‘This is our Stanley Cup final,’ Hospital workers share their stories from the COVID-19 pandemic

PITTSBURGH — Doctors, nurses and all hospital employees are sacrificing their time and safety to keep the rest of us safe, and they’re doing extraordinary things to keep our medical institutions running during the COVD-19 pandemic.

Whether behind the scenes or in the emergency rooms, they’re all front-line heroes.

“This is our Stanley Cup Final. This is what we’re ready for. We build up for stuff like this,” Nicholas Ferraro said.

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Ferrraro is the facilities manager at UPMC Magee Women's Hospital, but he’s driven by the same mentality that drives all hospital workers, including Jeff Beveridge, a registered nurse and the clinical leader at UPMC Children's Hospital Emergency Department.

“We are built for this. We like to take on that challenge,” Beveridge said.

While their roles are very different, both are working tirelessly in the fight against the coronavirus.

“Now we really don't have time to react. We have to be more proactive when it comes to dealing with COVID-19 and those challenges,” Ferrraro said.

His biggest responsibility right now is a room that was just installed outside of the operating rooms at Magee because of the coronavirus. It's called a negative anteroom.

“It actually creates a negative pressure buffer. So if anything comes out of the operating room, it gets trapped in the negative anteroom, filtered through a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter and then the clean air is discharged out back into the corridor space,” he said.

This keeps everyone in the operating room, such as a pregnant woman needing an emergency c-section, and those in the rest of the hospital safe from the spread of the coronavirus.

Across town at UPMC Children's Hospital, Beveridge guides families through a very stressful and unplanned time in the emergency department.

“Our role is to calmly reassure them that we are there for them. That we are going to provide excellent care and customer service,” he said.

That role is something that hasn’t changed through this uncertain time.

Beveridge communicates regularly with his fellow nurses, physicians, the team at registration and many more people across the hospital.

As guidelines change, sometimes multiple times a day, he takes a lot of pride in making sure they are aware to provide the best care to you.

“Even though it’s not easy, we accept the sacrifices that we have to make and that our loved ones have to make during this time, but this is our job,” he said.

Frontline AHN caregivers using industrial grade respirator masks during COVID-19 pandemic Frontline AHN caregivers using industrial grade respirator masks during COVID-19 pandemic

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