MADISON (WKOW) -- Wisconsin COVID-19 hospitalizations are at their highest level since January, and the influx of sick patients is adding additional stress to health workers who have been on the pandemic's front lines for a year and a half.
"It's like we're running a marathon, but we don't know where the finish line is," Dr. Ann Sheehy, a hospitalist at UW Health, said. "We're all very tired."
Sheehy spoke with 27 News in June, as cases and hospitalizations were declining. At the time, she said she was optimistic about how the pandemic would play out. But then the Delta variant took hold.
"That optimism has definitely faded for the short term," Sheehy said. "When we see patients come into the hospital and they've chosen not to get vaccinated and they become very sick, it's just, it's very difficult as a health care provider now to watch that happen because this is so largely preventable."
Sheehy said as the pandemic has stretched on, she's seen colleagues wonder if the unending stress and long hours are worth it.
"There's a lot of people that are questioning about whether this is the career they want," she said. "I think we've seen more retirements than we would have expected … because it's taken a profession that we all have invested ourselves in and believe in and has changed that for many people."
Sheehy said it's been particularly challenging recently to see multiple family members end up in the hospital with COVID-19.
"When you see families being impacted by the same illness because a family decided not to get vaccinated, it's just really hard to continue," she said.
Although the most recent surge has been challenging, Sheehy said she and her colleagues aren't giving up on helping sick people get better.
"We're committed to taking care of people as best we can," she said. "But we all have our limits, and we all will reach a max."
Sheehy said while she's trying to stay positive, she is worried cases and hospitalizations could climb further as we enter fall and people spend more time indoors. So, she said she's begging for people to get vaccinated and take a load off the shoulders of health care workers.
"The best way to help the health care providers today is to take care of yourself," she said.
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August 26, 2021 at 10:47AM
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'We don't know where the finish line is': Current hospitalization surge strains health care workers - WKOW
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