LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Five years after the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Kentucky, the memory of the pandemic's worst days live on inside Kentucky hospitals.
Nurses and doctors in emergency rooms and intensive care units remember nearing complete overwhelm, treating patients day-in and day-out for a virus with limited information and at times, limited resources.
Joy Murphy, an ICU nurse at Baptist Health in Lexington, described the beginning of the pandemic as a "bewildering" experience.
"I don't think we realized at first how huge it would become," Murphy said.
Murphy has spent 43 years in nursing. The last five have been unlike any others.
"We were scared, and [patients] were scared, too," she said. "We held a lot of hands, stayed sometimes in rooms with them and just sat with them, because they were isolated from their families."
During the pandemic, changing federal guidance and understanding of the virus changed quickly, and restrictions meant to keep staff and patients safe sometimes upset families.
Dr. Mark Dougherty, an infectious disease specialist at Baptist Health, said the Lexington hospital neared the point of being overwhelmed but never reached it.
"We worked really long hours, usually from six in the morning till midnight," he said of himself and other doctors.
Across the street at UK HealthCare, Patti Howard, enterprise director for emergency services, witnessed the same struggle.
"It was really gut-wrenching to watch them not be able to stay with their loved ones, knowing that they may not see them again," Howard said.
The stress of the job did not end at the hospital doors. Howard recalled anxiety among health care workers about potentially bringing the virus home.
"Which one of us is going to have to worry about what we take home to our families, which one of us may get this?" she asked.
The pandemic's toll led to an exodus in the healthcare field.
Data from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing indicates that around 100,000 nurses left the profession during the pandemic due to burnout, stress, and early retirement.
Despite the challenges, both Murphy and Howard continued their work, driven by a passion for nursing.
Kentucky faced nearly 2 million COVID-19 cases within two and a half years.
Howard held a commemorative pin she shared with her department for their efforts,
"It has been such a change since we first heard the word COVID to where we are today," she said.
While the days of panic over COVID-19 have passed, the memories remain.
"We'll probably always be a little touched by them," Murphy admitted, hoping such experiences are once in a lifetime.
