KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For Dr. Stefanie Ellison, a rough, emotional day at work is different from what most experience. She's an emergency physician at Truman Medical Center, a mother to three, a wife to one and a caregiver to dozens. And each day presents a new set of challenges.
ANCHOR KEVIN HOLMES: Walk me through your most challenging moment or most frustrating moment since Mid-March.
DR. STEFANIE ELLISON: So, I’m a doctor and I like to understand and know how to do everything, and the most challenging thing is how this has changed.
For Ellison, changes have made their way to the health care field and schools -- and are different by jurisdiction.
“I live on the Kansas side,” Ellison said. “I practice on the Missouri side. I have family in Nebraska. And so, I’m consistently trying to stay in the know and advise when they ask me what they should do.”
Ellison said she and her colleagues often over-communicate to make sure they have adequate protection. Safety is a top priority.
“We’re good at pivoting in emergencies, but this one is coming at us faster than most things we’ve ever done,” Ellison said.
It’s coming so fast, Ellison said, she knows of at least seven other hospitals in the Kansas City metro with higher-than-normal volumes. Some are even running out of beds. And it’s not just coronavirus, but side effects others might not think of.
“We are seeing increased numbers of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, and so it’s changed things socially for everyone,” Ellison said.
KH: If there’s just one takeaway you have for our viewing public, in this day and age of COVID-19, what would that be?
SE: I want to invite you to imagine a person that’s very dear to you in your family, who might have one chronic condition, over the age of 50. And those we know to be our patients to have a bad outcome due to coronavirus. And so, as you go about your day, when you leave your house, make sure you have a mask. I carry a bottle of Purell with me everywhere and wear that mask for that person.
Ellison said only about 3% to 5%of COVID-19 patients get critically ill, and while people interpret that data differently, she said she's dedicated to keeping that number low.
She’s doing everything in her power to make sure her patients, family members and she herself don’t fall victim.
“This is not just, 'I caught the flu, and I recovered completely,'” Ellison said. “A lot of patients are not able to recover completely, even if they survive this virus.”
