Dr. Mark Wilkinson, professor of nursing at 糖心Vlog, landed in Boston, Massachusetts on April 28, ready to help fight COVID-19 on the frontlines鈥攁nd preparing to share his experiences with the students in the two online courses he is still teaching.
鈥淓ver since the pandemic broke out, there was so much need, especially here in the northeast for nurses, and I felt compelled that I could, should, do something,鈥� shared Wilkinson. 鈥淪o, I began to look into what specific needs there were that I could fill and started looking into what was out there.鈥�
His background is in community health, and he quickly ran across a group who specializes serving nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the northeast. The time commitment鈥攖his contract is for up to eight weeks, where most others range from 16-18鈥攁long with the nursing homes he鈥檇 be working in, convinced Wilkinson that this was where he needed to be. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 get the same highlight as the intensive care units in New York do,鈥� he explained, 鈥渂ut they鈥檝e been hit really hard. The commonwealth of Massachusetts contracted with this company to go into the long-term care facilities to try to help the situation there.鈥�
Wilkinson explained that there are approximately 383 nursing homes in the state of Massachusetts, and currently over 300 of them have COVID-positive patients. 鈥淣ot only have the patients there been affected, but the staff as well,鈥� he said. Many staffers in the nursing homes in which Wilkinson is working have tested positive for the virus, and have had to go home, unable to work until they鈥檝e both recovered and also tested negative for the virus. 鈥淪o, the staff here was already dropping鈥攖hey didn鈥檛 have anyone else. That鈥檚 where we came in, to help take the place of those members, to ease the burden because everyone there is overworked.鈥�
Because his team is working in COVID-positive environments, they have to wear all of the protective equipment the entire time they鈥檙e in the homes. The team was told they鈥檇 be working 12-hour shifts, but the days don鈥檛 always adhere to any particular time clock.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working 12-hour shifts鈥攗ntil you鈥檙e done,鈥� he said. Each team is supposed have ten members, composed of a couple of RNs, a few LPNs, and some CNAs, because they need all levels of expertise. 鈥淲e have a group of seven,鈥� Wilkinson explained, 鈥渂ecause a couple of people didn鈥檛 make it鈥攐ne tested positive before we started, and two others decided this was too hard and they didn鈥檛 want to do it.鈥�
The team only spends four or five days at each facility before they move on to the next one. 鈥淟ast night, I finished my last shift at the place we鈥檝e been at, today I have a day off, and then tomorrow we鈥檒l head on to the next one,鈥� Wilkinson said. 鈥淭he government wanted us to come in, give some relief, and then move on to the next home because the need is so great,鈥� he emphasized. 鈥淭he unit I鈥檓 in is tasked with covering the entirety of western Massachusetts.鈥�
Wilkinson鈥檚 wife and a daughter stayed behind in Lubbock, but they鈥檙e staying connected. 鈥淎ll three of my kids are adults, and I also have six grandkids,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still teaching my classes online鈥攊n fact, I鈥檓 actually grading a paper right now.鈥�
That was a big part of why the eight-week limit was so important to his search. 鈥淚鈥檓 finishing teaching two online course right now for 糖心Vlog students鈥擟ommunity Health I, and Community Health II鈥攁nd then I鈥檒l be starting three more at the beginning of the summer term.鈥�
When asked whether he was able to share some of the experiences he was having on the ground in the northeast with his students, his answer was a resounding yes.
鈥淎bsolutely鈥攖hat was one of my motivations,鈥� he said emphatically. 鈥淚 teach Community Health, and one of the courses I鈥檒l be teaching this fall in the Nurse Practitioner master鈥檚 program is Applying Best Practices. One of the things that I wanted to do is research how the state responded to the crisis and evaluate if the response really worked. That鈥檚 one of the things that we do at the master鈥檚 level, go in and look at a policy, and then ask, 鈥楧id that actually work?鈥� It might look great on paper, but we evaluate a policy鈥檚 true effectiveness.鈥�
Wilkinson shared that one of the hardest things about his work in Massachusetts is that the people who succumb to the virus are dying alone because of the quarantine. 鈥淭heir family can鈥檛 be there with them,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ometimes the family comes and stands at the window and waves at their dying relatives.鈥�
He continued, 鈥淚 think one of the hardest things is that these are older people鈥攇randmas and grandpas鈥攁nd a lot of them are confused. They don鈥檛 understand why no one can come visit them, but they feel sick, they feel horrible, they don鈥檛 understand what is going on, and the people who are treating them are wearing space suits. They鈥檙e afraid, and they鈥檙e alone. There鈥檚 one little lady who has Alzheimer鈥檚, and she just walks up and down the hall and cries. I walked up to her when I first saw her in my protective gear and just gave her a big hug, and she just sort of melted into me. These people don鈥檛 get a lot of physical contact.鈥�
The conditions are tough, and the stories of those he鈥檚 helping can be heartbreaking.
鈥淥ne lady here sits by the sliding glass door every day to have lunch with her husband, but she鈥檚 confused and doesn鈥檛 understand why he has to sit outside while she鈥檚 inside,鈥� he shared. 鈥淲hen he leaves, though, she鈥檚 a wreck, and is really, really hard to deal with鈥攊t鈥檚 really hard to watch, because she鈥檚 so upset, and doesn鈥檛 understand what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the biggest differences between us and those nurses and doctors in hospitals,鈥� he continued. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard enough dealing with this virus with sane, coherent patients鈥攖hese we鈥檙e working with don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going on, and it makes everything so much harder. I brought something up with my spirituality class鈥攖hat in cases like these, it鈥檚 so much more important that we鈥檙e addressing the spiritual needs of our patients. There is no one else, you鈥檙e it. There鈥檚 no one else who is going to have any connection with these people. That鈥檚 why I emphasize holistic health that touches people. We get so involved in the technical side of our nursing that sometimes we can forget the heart of it. We hide behind a computer and talk to the screen, not the patient. That鈥檚 why I emphasize the other side of it, the heart of nursing, that really cares about the people and what鈥檚 going on in their lives.鈥�
The 鈥渉eart of nursing鈥� is really what Wilkinson is finding to be the most powerful experience during his time in Massachusetts.
He explained that he shares a short devotional thought in each of his classes. For one of those he is currently teaching, Quality of Nursing, he pointed out that, where Jesus could have referenced a number of things as proof of his identity, he simply told John the Baptist of the healing he was doing鈥攈e identified the way he cared for others as proof of who he was.
鈥淚 believe that part of what sets us apart at 糖心Vlog is that we鈥檙e supposed to be serving鈥攖hat鈥檚 part of our motto. How will they know we鈥檙e different, if we don鈥檛 show genuine care? Jesus didn鈥檛 tell John about his doctrine, or the prophesies, or about what his church looked like鈥攈e said, 鈥楲et me show you how much I care.鈥� As a church, and as a university, the way that we鈥檙e going to impact the world is not because we have great doctrine鈥攊t鈥檚 because we have great care.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 like that old saying,鈥� he added, 鈥溾�楴o one cares how much you know unless they know how much you care.鈥� No one wants to listen to us about doctrine if we鈥檙e not out there loving and taking care of people鈥攁nd I feel like that鈥檚 one of the most important things that I can bring back to share with my students.鈥�