I am sitting with my patient in his room on Facetime with his family.  He is COVID positive and has suffered irreparable heart damage as a result of the virus.  He has been provided comfort measures only and will most likely die before the end of my shift.  It is only 9:30 a.m. and already two of my patients on my assignment have passed away from COVID, and another one will get intubated by noon.

After an incredibly difficult spring and a summer, we are seeing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases here in Connecticut. This fall and winter promise to be very challenging months. Nowhere has the impact of coronavirus been felt more than in our nursing homes. Nursing home residents and workers represent nearly 40% of all coronavirus deaths across the country. 

Today, on Veterans Day, we honor those who risked their lives to defend America and our values. So it’s extremely troubling to know that more than 6,000 veterans die by suicide each year, nearly twice the number of soldiers who were killed in action during the entire seven-year long Iraq war. 

Imagine being stuck in the middle of a lake in a canoe with a single set of paddles and a life jacket. Now, imagine that your life jacket deflates, and your paddles shrink ever so much with each stroke you take as you make your way back to shore. Now imagine there is a tiny hole in your canoe. You work hard to try and make your way back to shore, but your resources are being depleted. Despite your best efforts, you are eventually underwater.