Community Hospital nurses persevere through pandemic challenges to ensure optimal patient care

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Nursing is the glue that holds patient care together, and this past year they were put to the test.

While they are extremely grateful for the recognition, Nurses’ Week is just another week for nurses because they don’t do their job to be praised. They do it because they care.

“It’s just like any other week honestly, I mean it’s nice to be recognized for what we do, but I don’t think most of us do it for the recognition,” says April Lobdell, a Community Hospital ICU nurse.

This last year hasn’t been easy for nurses however. They have experienced a lot of change.

“Patient care is harder, it just is. Communication is harder because you rely on your facial expressions, you rely on that communication a ton and that’s gone,” says Lobdell.

They also had to learn to adjust.

“I have a lot of hard of hearing patients and they have to see your mouth so I’ve had to really try a lot of different things with communication boards. It’s hard because you’re missing that personal piece to communication,” says Shamira Bird, an MSU nurse at Community Hospital. “You feel kind of impersonal writing on a communication board, so you do your best to smile with your eyes. I’m no top model, I can’t smile with my eyes,”

Bird says being able to adapt is a necessary skill as a nurse.

“Hospital policy is always changing, your patients are changing,” says Bird. “These people are in a very vulnerable state, they’re scared. You have to be able to push through some of the vulnerable, emotional reactions they might have to know that they’re sick. They’re probably not like that in real life. But you have to have a hard spirit as a nurse.”

Both nurses encourage those who are interested in nursing to explore the possibilities.

However, they do advice you have a passion for service.

“It can take you anywhere, from administration to hands on to volunteer, it’s everything,” says Lobdell. “Do it.”

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