Today, the United States hit a grim milestone - more than 400,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus since the first case was logged just about a year ago.
For those on the frontlines, the last 11 months has been exhausting and emotional, and not just because of the physical work caring for parents.
According to Sue Algeri, associate chief nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, before the pandemic, nurses and other healthcare workers found solace in talking to and eating with their colleagues at lunch or on a break. Now, those moments have been eliminated to stem the spread of the virus.
"You're used to that camaraderie, that collegiality, of just being able to eat with your colleague and kind of share experiences, so having to move to this type of environment has been challenging," said Algeri. "It's very different for staff, and the ways that we would normally interact and cope during stressful times has been adapted and is just very different. So you used to go into your break room and maybe talk about how your day is going, and now that experience is different because we have to make sure that we're keeping staff safe here."
Algeri was joined by registered nurse Brittany Sheehan, also from MGH, who's been caring for COVID patients in intensive care since the spring.
Then, with president-elect Joe Biden set to be inaugurated tomorrow, we checked back in with Boston resident Eleanor Kaplan, who recently turned 100. In the spring, Kaplan said she wanted to live through the pandemic to see Biden be elected.
Click on the audio player above to listen to the full episode.
Segments:
Suzanne Algeri & Brittany Sheehan - 2:56
Eleanor Kaplan - 18:02
