When you hear the word “Nurse”, what image comes to mind? Are they in scrubs? A nursing cap? You probably picture them in a mask, perhaps, and wearing comfortable shoes that allow them to pull long shifts on their feet. Are they travelling down a hospital hallway at warp speed? If you answered yes to any of the above, you’re not alone.
What you probably didn’t picture, is someone like Jake.
Jake is one of the CK Public Health Nurses whose role changed drastically when the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration was announced in Chatham-Kent.
Prior to COVID-19, Jake was a member of our School Health Team, where his days were spent providing curriculum support to teachers, schools, schoolboards and, of course, direct support to the students across Chatham-Kent through immunizations, school wellness programs and sexual health.
These days look a little different for Jake, who is now responsible for performing Contact Tracing, a key role in the emergency response to COVID-19, which includes:
- Identifying people who may have been exposed
o Identifying all of the people who have been in close contact with the person who tested positive. In depth interviews take place to make sure all possible contacts are considered.
- Reaching out to people who may have been exposed
o Informing all people who were identified in the interview process as soon as possible. Then, assessment for symptoms of COVID-19 takes place with any potential people who could have been exposed and health teaching takes place to prevent the spread of infection.
- Following up and monitoring
o The job doesn’t end there! Contact tracers continue to connect with people who have tested positive and others who may have been exposed to monitor for signs and symptoms, answer questions and address new concerns.
When we say CK Public Health has you covered, we mean it!
Jake is also one of the many CK Public Health staff that are pulling “double duty” to further assist the community during these times. As needed, Jake is one of the CK Public Health staff answering calls that come through the COVID-19 intake line, which has assisted more than 4757 callers since opening just 2 months ago.
Concerned parents looking for answers about their ill child’s symptoms, business owners looking for assistance on how to safely provide their services to the public so that they don’t have to close their doors -perhaps indefinitely, staff from long term care homes with questions about how to best protect their residents and themselves – you name it, the COVID-19 intake line has answered the call.
So, although a headset may be in place of the traditional nursing cap that comes to mind when you hear the word “Nurse”, and back-to-back triage is taking place over-the-phone as opposed to the typical office setting, caring knows no boundaries as Jake and his fellow Public Health Nurses provide support to CK residents on the frontline, backline and sideline of this pandemic. In Jake’s case, doing it all with a positive outlook, too:
“Being re-assigned to the communicable disease team to do contact tracing for COVID-19 has been a great experience. It’s a different challenge everyday and everyone on the team has been working very well together to keep our community safe.” – Jake Zelina, CK Public Health Nurse