Members of the Erlanger Health System on the front lines of the region’s fight against COVID-19 expressed their sadness, grief and fatigue Monday night in a live-streamed vigil from the hospital.
As of Monday, 415 Hamilton County residents had died of COVID-19 with hundreds more dying from the virus in the surrounding counties. The area has experienced some of the deadliest months this winter with 455 people dying in a 21-county region surrounding Chattanooga in January and 373 dying in December.
Lynne Sims, nurse manager of Erlanger’s COVID-19 unit, told viewers about a beloved colleague of three decades who died from the virus. But, like many other health care workers, she continued working to treat patients fighting for their lives.
“We’re very good at pushing our feelings down and carrying on,” Sims said. “I’ve held patients’ hands and cried with them, and their families, as they told their loved ones goodbye and continued on as a nurse only again to push my feelings of heartache deep down.”
Sims said she had to take a break from her role to deal with her grief and thanked those around her for being supportive.