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LEXINGTON, KY. (May 6, 2021) – As the pandemic continues, enough cannot be said about the heroes on the frontlines. Nurses all over the world have gone above and beyond to deliver extraordinary care in the face of a global health crisis while still facing the demands of other professional and personal obligations. As National Nurses Month gets underway, Lynn Kelso, an assistant professor in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing and an acute care nurse practitioner in UK HealthCare’s medical intensive care unit (MICU), reflects on the challenges she and her colleagues faced over the past year.
“It s challenging teaching, working in the hospital and going to school,” said Kelso who is also enrolled as a student in the doctorate program in the College of Nursing. “When I was still working six nights a month in the ICU, that took up three weekends a month. I had to be very organized to keep up with everything that needed to be done; sometimes I was successful a
Jenn Alonso, Staff nurse in the MICU at Chandler hospital in her full PAPR for the Covid floor on March 25, 2021. Photo by Mark Cornelison | UKphoto
LEXINGTON, KY. (May 4, 2021) – Memorable images of frontline workers treating COVID-19 patients wearing gowns, masks, face shields and other personal protective equipment (PPE) are examples of infection control in practice. Infection control is critical in health care settings like hospitals and long-term care facilities where staff must care for patients with contagious illnesses while being mindful of their safety and the safety of other patients and staff. The spread of COVID-19 is the latest example of why it is imperative to follow infection control protocols.
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 4, 2021) About 115 University of Kentucky College of Nursing faculty, staff and students volunteered their services at the UK COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Kroger Field on Saturday, Feb. 27. The volunteers enabled the clinic to offer expanded Saturday hours and an increased vaccination capacity by about 1,000 people. This was the final week of a five-week volunteer effort from UK s health care colleges to extend clinic hours from noon to 6 p.m. each Saturday.
The UK Kroger Field COVID-19 vaccination clinic operates from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Overall, UK HealthCare has vaccinated more than 62,000 people including frontline health care workers, first responders, teachers and school personnel.
While the COVID-19 pandemic rages on worldwide with new variants, the urgency for Kentucky nurses to continue to be on the frontlines now extends out to a massive vaccine campaign. Just like Florence Nightingale, mother of modern nursing, and Mary Jane Seacole, British-Jamaican nurse and business woman, did in the Crimean war, nurses today are working 24/7 to get the mission accomplished. Â
Although the practice settings may change from a critical care unit one day and the next day a large parking lot tent or football stadium or drive-through clinic, the shepherding of public health in the commonwealth, its citizens and students remains the same.
January is National Radon Action Month, a time to raise awareness of the health effects of radon and take action to lower your risk. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that seeps up from the ground and into homes, schools, work sites, and other indoor spaces through cracks in the foundation or basement or around pipes. It is colorless, tasteless and odorless and can cause lung cancer; you would have no way of knowing if it has infiltrated your home unless you test for it. Yet, few people test for the radioactive gas.