Page 11 - BusinessWest April 27, 2020

she told BusinessWest. “Some of our patients have dementia, and not being able to see their families, it is challenging.”
That said, “I think our facility has done a good job,” she went on. “We do phone calls with family, and we do FaceTime, so I think that helps a little bit. But not being able to physi- cally touch loved ones is hard for some of the patients and their family members.”
Tomasi paused to consider what else has been challenging about work- ing in healthcare during the time of COVID-19.
“Everyone is so fearful of not know- ing what’s going to happen,” she finally said. “That’s a big problem. We are not fully aware of how this thing will go, how to treat it, so the new big prob- lem is fear — fear of the unknown. We don’t know everything about it, there’s anxiety around it, and I sometimes get scared because I know that I have the ability to spread it. But you know what has to be done — you have to help.”
BROOKE HALLOWELL
“We have mechanisms to do more triage and problem solving with patients before they come to a place where they’re exposing themselves to others.”
With graduation — such as it is this year — just around the corner, many more nurses and other healthcare pro- fessionals are getting ready to transi- tion from college into full-time work, but they’re facing an uncertain job market when so much of the sector’s energy is tied up in simply containing the pandemic.
“I checked in with some of our soon-to-be-graduates, and as far as the
“
and as far as the job market goes, I would say it’s pretty
Medical Center has informed appli- cants that its new-graduate nursing program, traditionally a very popular landing spot for Elms grads, has been postponed.
But the need is great, she added, and Elms President Harry Dumay agreed, adding, “I’m proud of being part of this sector and proud of not only our institution, but all students
Students
Continued on page 13
I checked in with some of our soon-to-be-graduates,
much up in the air and confusing.
”
job market goes, I would say it’s pretty much up in the air and confusing,” said Kathleen Scoble, dean of the School of Nursing at Elms College.
On one hand, she noted, Hartford
Hospital and St. Francis Hospital just down I-91 have responded “pretty expeditiously” to graduating seniors, several of whom landed positions right away. On the other hand, Baystate
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