PALM HEROES: Honoring Those Helping on the Frontlines and Beyond During COVID-19, Week 3
It’s been said that not all heroes wear capes and that has been proven over the past few weeks from people who have put their own lives on hold to help those that are in need. These heroes are the medical and healthcare workers on the frontline, risking their lives and the lives of their families. It also includes teachers doing all they can to turn their classroom into a virtual learning experience. The nurses who have to figure out how to do their best job and protect themselves and others during a shortage of supplies, and we can’t forget the essential workers at our stores and making the many deliveries to all of us staying home. Throughout this time Palm will be featuring these stories and showing our recognition to all that are fighting the good fight. Meet our Palm Heroes.
In recent days, a new threat has hit patients with COVID-19 and ICUs across America -- a shortage of dialysis machines and supplies. This is being caused by the new syndrome doctors are seeing in COVID-19 patients, a failure in their kidneys. The body's intense reaction to the virus is often causing their blood to clot too much, and the clots are literally clogging up the dialysis filters. On a typical day, our next hero walks 10 miles during a 12-hour shift. In case you didn’t know, that’s approximately two half marathons. However, for this marathon, one can’t train or prepare for what may come up, especially when there’s a global pandemic that has changed how you treat your patients and your nights when you go home. Meet this week's hero: Sam Tannure.
What is your name and occupation?
Sam Tannure, Registered Nurse
Where do you work/live?
Satellite Healthcare Dialysis
What’s your typical day like?
I treat over 75 patients a day, walk over 19k steps, or approximately 10 miles in a 12-hour shift from 430AM to 530PM. A typical day involves checking in, assessing patients, begin the treatment, administer meds, and check vitals every 30 min until treatment is over. If needed, I perform interventions, including orders for medication, and completing admin documentation for all patients I treated during my shift.
However, since COVID-19 we now screen all patients for symptoms before they are allowed on the floor, all patients have to wear a mask and cannot bring or eat food or consume drinks on the floor, and staff has to follow normal protective procedure and policy also being more careful to conserve and use supplies longer than usual, ie. masks due to our shortages.
How are you protecting your loved ones when you get home?
Applying best practices to lower the risk of infection from how I prep to enter the house, from regularly wiping surfaces, properly washing hands, and practicing proper mask use in public places if we need to go out for essential needs.
With long work days, how do you stay connected to your family/friends?
Setting alarms for various reminders throughout my shift, using it to track my steps, and receiving messages from my center manager. I currently own and use a Palm. I love the Life Mode feature, as it helps me focus on the lives that matter around me - my patients- while still knowing if I have an emergency I can always take it off Life Mode to access the phone and my other apps. I usually stay connected with family and friends through a WhatsApp group. We have set up and video messaging before and after my shift.
We want to send a huge thank you to Sam for taking the time to chat with us during this busy time. We will be featuring new heroes every Friday, so continue to check-in with us to follow these amazing stories of people who are stepping up when they’re needed most. If you know someone who deserves to be a Palm Hero, please email their story to us at hello@palm.com.