chicagotribune--2020-05-06--For National Nurses Week, we asked Chicago-area nurses what their new norm looks like. Here’s what t

For National Nurses Week, we asked Chicago-area nurses what their new norm looks like. Here’s what they had to say.

“ My husband and I decided I would move out for the safety of the family .
So my daughter moved out of her college apartment , and currently I ’ m living there while she ’ s at home .
It ’ s very lonely .
Being home alone is not something that I ’ m used to , but I have to make an effort to try to live in this situation .
It ’ s rough .
It ’ s lonely ; it ’ s depressing .
Work alone is depressing enough when you ’ re there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ connect with your family like you would on a normal basis ?
It ’ s even harder .
Prayers , I would have to say , are the only thing keeping me strong enough to do what I need to do as a mom , a wife and also a nurse .
It ’ s just a very overwhelming , emotionally draining , physically draining situation .
And we truly don ’ t know if the end is anywhere near .
There ’ s a lot of sacrifices all of us are making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of people are seeing that.
” — Falguni Dave , 45 , charge nurse , Stroger Hospital , Chicago

Poignant, heart-wrenching stories from the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic have flooded our inbox over the past few days, as the Tribune asked Chicago-area nurses one question: “How are you living through this new norm?”
For National Nurses Week, May 6-12, more than 60 of them told us how they make it through each day, and about the hardest challenges they’re facing. Some brought smiles to our faces. Others offered words of caution and hopes for the future.
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Here’s what they had to say.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
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How we make it through
Falguni Dave, from left, Stacy Nelson and Lee Schmidt. (National Nurses United; Amy Miracle; Lee Schmidt)
“My husband and I decided I would move out for the safety of the family. So my daughter moved out of her college apartment, and currently I’m living there while she’s at home. It’s very lonely. Being home alone is not something that I’m used to, but I have to make an effort to try to live in this situation. It’s rough. It’s lonely; it’s depressing. Work alone is depressing enough when you’re there. And not to be able to connect with your family like you would on a normal basis? It’s even harder. Prayers, I would have to say, are the only thing keeping me strong enough to do what I need to do as a mom, a wife and also a nurse. It’s just a very overwhelming, emotionally draining, physically draining situation. And we truly don’t know if the end is anywhere near. There’s a lot of sacrifices all of us are making, and I don’t think a lot of people are seeing that.” — Falguni Dave, 45, charge nurse, Stroger Hospital, Chicago
“Finding a new normal means creating space for myself and those around me to grieve, while simultaneously moving forward at a feverish pace, in a profession that threatens to swallow me whole. Not all days are dark, though. I have been overwhelmed by the creative ways health care workers are expressing their love and common humanity. Pandemic life for a nurse requires careful self-care. I have been tending to my own needs by spending time in nature, knitting, showing gratitude for small happy gestures, accepting and giving love, prioritizing my relationships and time with those I cherish, and remembering to smile and laugh.” — Stacy Nelson, palliative care nurse practitioner, Franciscan Health, northwest Indiana
“By staying focused on our educational mission of preparing nurses to enter the workforce in caring for the health of our communities.” — Lee Schmidt, registered nurse, associate professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
Tyrone Landingham. (Michael McGee)
“I’m a really faith-based, God-fearing man, so I’ve really leaned on my faith to get me through. My church has been doing a really amazing job, making sure we’re still able to receive the Word, that we’re covered in prayer. That has been a tremendous help to me, because it’s hard not being able to actually be in the building. They’ve done a great job of creating that experience virtually. Also, the team I work with at Howard Brown Health creates such a great environment. That makes it easy to come to work and fight on the front lines. I am honored to be on the front lines, fighting for those who are unable to fight.” — Tyrone Landingham, 29, registered nurse, Howard Brown Health, Chicago
Jamie Love, from left, Kirsten Bray and Lucia Torres. (Brendan Namoff; Kirsten Bray; Lucia Torres)
“My work family helps each other make it through each and every day. That is what gets me through my shift. Well that ... and wine helps a lot, too.” — Jamie Love, cardiac ICU registered nurse, Rush Medical Center, Chicago
“Home workouts. Lots of walks outside. Lots of home cooking. Lots of Netflix.” — Kirsten Bray, emergency department registered nurse, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington
“The new norm is challenging. I am trying to take it one day at a time. Because of my job, I quarantine myself after I leave work to avoid the possibility of infecting people. I miss my family and friends. I have this quote written on my refrigerator, and I read it before work all the time: ‘A little progress each day adds to big results.’ The patients I care for and people staying home add up to big results.” — Lucia Torres, registered nurse, Advocate Health Care
Amy Tapscott, clockwise from left, Erin Passmore and Monique Ridosh. (Debby Crowley; Erin Passmore; Loyola University)
“Early on in nursing school, I was taught to always count on change. This is a time when that has proven ever more true. I realize all the medical professionals are working tirelessly to keep us all safe and healthy. So, I try to be positive and remember we are all in this together.” — Amy Tapscott, registered nurse, Passavant Area Hospital, Memorial Health System affiliate, Jacksonville
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“During this pandemic, I got swept up in the sourdough bread-making craze, supporting local businesses and artists, finding comfort in our dogs and trying my best to be positive. I commissioned a local artist to deconstruct some old clothes into chic COVID masks. I started a Facebook group called COVID Crusaders. The mission is to offer support resources, uplifting messages or a positive sentiment during this unsettling time. It’s hard to find a normal when the rest of the world is locked down, and we nurses are still working. I am grateful I have a job, support of my family, friends and co-workers. We are all in this together.” — Erin Passmore, urgent care registered nurse, UI Health Mile Square Health Center, Chicago
“Trying my best each day to live in the present moment. A moment in which our society is engaged in working together for the common good.” — Monique Ridosh, registered nurse, assistant professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
Sara Ruble, from left, Ty Bernal and Sharon Cichon. (Sara Ruble; Sharon Cichon; Ty Bernal)
“Walks with my friends from work, making others laugh, FaceTimes with friends and family, and trying new things, like getting an ice cream maker, allow me to cope with the pressures surrounding all health care workers. As odd as things may be, I hope the incredible generosity, determination and unity I’ve seen will always be considered a part of the new normal. It’s made life a little easier to live for all of us.” — Sara Ruble, oncology nurse, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
“I am living through this new normal by taking it day by day, with a good, open flow of communication, on- and off-shift.” — Ty Bernal, medical ICU registered nurse, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
“Staying positive and strong — to fight the COVID!” — Sharon Cichon, registered nurse
Why we do what we do
Nicole Beebe. (Nicole Beebe)
“Sometimes in the ER, we are our patients’ stand-in family, due to emergency situations. With the COVID-19 pandemic and visitors being limited, this is especially important. We are their hands to hold, and we provide their clinical and emotional care. We are also their communication to their families. As a charge nurse, I believe it is very important to note that it takes everyone supporting each other from all areas of the hospital to provide care to our patients safely and compassionately, especially during a pandemic.” — Nicole Beebe, registered nurse, trauma nurse specialist, Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, Huntley
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Karla Christianson, clockwise from left, Ali Branch, Tiffany Wiksten and Audrey Klopp. (Karla Christianson; Howard Brown Health; Alexandra Seguin; family photo)
“No one invited COVID-19 into our world, and it certainly did not come with a set of instructions. But we’ve got this. I am an emergency department nurse, and it’s what I (and the team) do. I assess, plan, implement and evaluate, and then do it all over again. We are experts at change management and quickly adapt to new practices, counting on each other for support and keeping the quality of the care we provide pivotal in our practice setting. I, and the team, get stronger with each challenge and realize our blessings. So how am I living with this new norm? Better, stronger, day by day and with caution.” — Karla Christianson, emergency nurse, Good Shepherd
“Living through the pandemic kind of ramps up the idea of why you went to (nursing) school. (We’re) learning how to make changes and be a part of science in a way most people never get the chance to do. Overall, I would be silly not to say that it is also incredibly stressful and a total culture shock, but I’m trying to see it from as good of a place as I can. To know that I still have a job, I still have work. At Howard Brown, we work specifically with the LGBTQ+ community, and we’re still able to provide those services and be a safe place our patients can come.” — Ali Branch, 37, community health nurse, Howard Brown Health, Chicago
“Nursing is a calling — it’s a calling we answer because we’re inspired to provide the most fundamental care to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our patients. Astute, critical thinking and complex clinical intervention keep our patients healthy, and that kind of care is the result of education that prepares nurses like us to meet those expectations. Nurses are so critically important. The world needs us, no matter what unit, department or capacity we work in. No one would ever say that being a nurse is easy, but I can say that it’s incredibly rewarding. I’m incredibly proud to be among you and grateful that we answered our calling.” — Tiffany Wiksten, manager of infection prevention and control, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
“Our nursing students, at the forefront of the COVID-19 situation — the leaders who will figure out how we will be more prepared ‘next time’ — are my heroes. It is with gratitude to them for all they are doing that I stand by, ready to listen and remind them that they’ve done their best and that we are proud of them.” — Audrey Klopp, registered nurse, Doctor of Nursing Practice program director, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
Michelle Kmiec with her fellow nurses at Edward Hospital. (Colleen Rafferty)
“My recent experiences at the hospital make clear what’s important in life and have reminded me to focus on the people I love. Working closely with patients who’ve contracted COVID-19, at the end of their lives, particularly if they’re alone, requires all the qualities that made us pursue this work. So being a nurse during this pandemic hasn’t changed me, so much as it has reminded me. It has inspired me to spend time on the things that matter most to me, and it makes me proud to be a nurse.” — Michelle Kmiec, emergency room registered nurse, Edward Hospital, Naperville
What our days are like now
Kristen Pérez on May 3, 2020, outside University of Illinois Hospital. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
“We have all developed new rituals. It’s been 60 days now; impossible not to. The morning routine is the most unchanged, except for what you bring to work with you: extra clothes, disinfectant spray and wipes, and my own P100 mask in case today is the day there are no more N95s. That’s the biggest fear at work: no more PPE.
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“I’m a float nurse, but I no longer bother to check my assignment for the day. I know where I’m going: The COVID care wing. Three separate units combined to make one large area for non-ICU COVID-positive patients. One charge nurse, 50-plus beds. You spend the day trying to be positive. You feel suffocated by your N95 mask that you had to fight administration to get and now are required to wear constantly. You wear your gown and your face shield, and you never knew this kind of hot before. You have to drink your own sweat off your lip inside the mask.
“You silently pray for your patients as they tell you about their other family and friends who are also hospitalized or have died. You think about your own friends, family and co-workers who are hospitalized or have died. Most days you get lunch donated. It’s nice to get food; the problem is finding time and space to eat it. Later on, it’s time to go. Out the door, and finally reveal your face, and get unobstructed air into your lungs, on your skin. You get in the car. You make it home. Sometimes you cry on the way. Sometimes you call home to warn them to stay away from the door. I stay separated. I go upstairs and never come down.
“You try to ignore the people claiming this is a hoax or a violation of their right to leave the house. You know it’s hard out there for people. What we need most is for everyone to do their part. We are not asking people to give up their freedom; we are asking people to modify their habits for the benefit of the most vulnerable. We can’t do it without you — nursing doesn’t work like that.” — Kristen Pérez, registered nurse, UI Health Hospital, Chicago
Maureen Salihar, second from left, with Cheryl Nazol, Jodi Overbeck and Lisa Grandsard. (Illinois Nurses Foundation)
“This picture is of me and my managers. The masks were made by my brother and his wife in Minnesota. We are leaning in seven days a week, 24 hours a day as leaders to the staff. Being part of multiple Hospital Incident Command System teams and, most of all, looking out for the entire hospital staff who are, in return, supporting nurses.” — Maureen Salihar, registered nurse, Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, Downers Grove
Aneta Piton, counter-clockwise from top left, Margaret Polakow, Maritza Perez and Brandon Barrios. (Aneta Piton; Margaret Polakow; Saint Anthony Hospital; Brandon Barrios)
“My days though are filled with both fear and hope. Fear that I will infect one of my patients. Fear that my fiancee, who has cancer, will be infected by something I carried home. Fear that someone will berate me on the street because I’m a nurse. I always feel guilty. I always feel afraid. But in that fear, I live in hope and among hope. My oncology patients still brave the risks of coming to the hospital every single day. I still see acts of kindness that remind me my work is important: People donating food, writing signs or flashing their lights thanking front line workers. The new normal? I don’t know what that is or will be. But I can say that in a world of fear, I see plenty of hope. And it’s that hope that I believe will shape our new normal.” — Aneta Piton, oncology nurse, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
“For some reason, at my hospital, we are watching this story play out over and over with Latino and Hispanic patients in their 50s and 60s. Patients who have spent their entire lives giving back to the Chicago community, working so hard in restaurants, factories, hospitals and office buildings in order to give their children a better life — many of them with no insurance.
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“I had two Hispanic patients stuck in the same room in the emergency department, as they waited for an ICU bed to become available. One is 64, the other 51. Both were on high-flow oxygen — the last resort before the feared intubation and mechanical ventilation. Both lay on an ER cart, struggling to breathe, working hard to stay calm, worrying about their families at home, and continuously thanking me and other nurses for caring for them.
“My gut instinct told me the 64-year-old was struggling a little more. But he denied this, and his numbers and levels were holding stable. Later, his son Daniel texted me to tell me his father had just been intubated and was now on a ventilator. He wanted to know, ‘Is this bad?’ I could not say what I was thinking: ‘Yes, this is the worst news ever. He probably will not come off of the ventilator.’
“I have never been more grateful for my learned gift of Spanish fluency, which allows me to connect with these patients and their families on a more personal level. In the past, ER nursing was not a job that I took home with me. Patients stayed in emergency department short term, and were passed from shift to shift. Now, I leave work worried, I worry about my patients while at home, I return to work worried. For myself and for my ER nurse team, the strength and resilience we never knew we had keep us forging ahead and returning day after day through this new norm.” — Margaret Polakow, emergency department registered nurse, Community First Medical Center, Chicago
“Our new way of living rapidly became our norm. Every day when I get to work, I get my temperature checked and receive my mask of the day. I make sure I don’t touch items with my hands: door handles, elevator buttons. At the end of the day, I wipe my station, shoes, phone, pens and stethoscope, change clothes and shoes, and wash my hands again. Then when I get home, I leave my shoes outside, change clothes and jump into the shower. After that, I am able to talk to my family. Our new norm rapidly became our norm, but it is all worth it to keep ourselves, our loved ones and others safe.” — Maritza Perez, labor and delivery registered nurse, Saint Anthony Hospital, Chicago
“It’s a scary time to be a new nurse, but I’ve been accepted and have never felt alone. I’m even more privileged to see that our patients, too, are not being left alone. I see nurses going into COVID rooms just to brush hair and provide sips of water. All this ignites my passion to help people even more.” — Brandon Barrios, float pool registered nurse, Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, Lake Forest
Linda Roberts, second from left, with her nieces, Jenny Ocampo, Diana Salihar and Kelly Ulrich. (Illinois Nurses Foundation)
“I am a 64-year-old registered nurse who works for the state, staffing a health policy board. I have been working from home since mid-March. At the end of March, my niece asked me to make masks for co-workers, as they gave PPE to either first responders or the local hospital. In the past three weeks, I have made 61 masks and 12 scrub caps. Forty masks went to my niece’s work. It takes me 1 ½ hours per mask, as they have two layers with a pocket for a filter, and I sew ties, as elastic pulls on ears. I also made 12 surgical scrub caps to keep hair out of their faces. At my age, I work at home, but my RN nieces work with patients. The next 20 masks are for a homeless shelter.” — Linda Roberts, registered nurse, Illinois Center for Nursing/Department of Financial and Professional Regulation manager, Chicago
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Jean Kirk, left, and Katie Vogler. (Katie Vogler)
“Every day brings something new. It all started with early discussions with the Illinois Department of Public Health, as our facility serves a large Asian American population and Chinese New Year was on the horizon. We learned about the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy; we began daily checks of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and listened to World Health Organization webcasts. Work began on updating our response plans, developed during H1N1 and Ebola. With the emergence of the novel coronavirus, it was evident that existing plans were not going to work.
“Our first submissions were all negative. Then we received a call from Public Health. We had three cases of coronavirus detected through state lab testing, and two were in asymptomatic patients. This was our wake-up call. This was no longer an infection prevention issue — all hands were on deck.
“What will the new norm be? It’s hard to say. For now, we keep an eye on those central lines and Foley catheters and glance at daily labs, but our priority is making sure our health care workers remain safe caring for their COVID patients.” — Jean Kirk and Katie Vogler, registered nurses, infection prevention, Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, Chicago
The challenges we face
Liz Somone, a nurse at University of Illinois Hospital, and husband Brian Johnson, a Chicago Fire Department paramedic, stand with 10-month-old daughter Alexandria and dog Kermit outside their home in Chicago on May 4, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
“I am a nurse in an ICU nestled in the Medical District, and my husband works as a paramedic for the Chicago Fire Department. We live on the Southwest Side with our 10-month-old daughter and a funny old dog. It is forcibly clear that these are heavy, uncharted times for all of us.
“Work is heartbreaking and emotionally draining. Our co-workers are dying. Patients are dying. Communities are being eroded by this relentless bug. Early on, my husband and I outlined a plan in case either of us became infected. I hate that we needed to do that. I hold my breath while he is on shift and count down the 24 hours until he returns.
“I teeter between rage and sorrow. If I allow myself to pause and digest the enormity of those feelings; they consume me. We alternate watching our daughter while the other works. After my turn to fight the good fight, I race home, run the shower hotter than hot, throw my scrubs in the laundry and savor rocking our sweet chunk of love to sleep.
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“Every night I take my temperature and hold space for the countless lives lost. This season of our lives has brought unique challenges, but I am not wishing away the days. I am present and looking forward to the future. It is an honor and privilege to work as a nurse during such a vulnerable time. Despite our new norm being filled with fear and uncertainty, nothing can take away the treasured moments at home sipping coffee and watching my babe grow.” — Liz Somone, registered nurse, UI Health Hospital, Chicago
Rebecca Puzas, from left, Stephanie Melone and Mona Dabbouseh. (Elizabeth Johnson; Stephanie Melone; Saint Anthony Hospital)
“I am currently 39 weeks pregnant. Although I planned to work up until my due date, due to COVID-19, the risk of exposure and lack of PPE, I began my maternity leave April 10. One word that describes how I’m feeling: HELPLESS. Situations like this is one of the main reasons I became a nurse. Being home and learning every day about the tragedy this pandemic is bringing breaks my heart. I have to sit back while my co-workers — my ‘work family’ — endanger their lives every day, and I cannot do anything about it. I hear about them being put in quarantine to rule out COVID-19; I hear about them losing family members to this virus, and even their own lives. So HELPLESS is how I’m feeling, while I sit at home. I pray every day my work family stays safe.” — Rebecca Puzas, surgical/organ transplant ICU registered nurse, UI Health Hospital, Chicago
“Being pregnant during this time has two separate challenges. However, I have the support of family and friends through FaceTime and other electronic interactions. My husband and I miss going to the gym the most, so we created an at-home gym and have enjoyed spending time together that way. Preparing for a baby, prayer and focusing on the positives of life has helped me get through this the most.” — Stephanie Melone, registered nurse,
“Every day is a new challenge. Living through this new norm has been extremely challenging. Taking care of higher acuity patients with little resources has taken a toll on me. But I am proud to work for an institution who prioritizes our safety.” — Mona Dabbouseh, ICU registered nurse, Saint Anthony Hospital, Chicago
What we miss most
Betty Metousis, from left, Lise Hauser and Harriet Hawkins. (Yen Tai; Lise Hauser; Harriet Hawkins)
“My new normal does not feel normal at all. Since working on the COVID ICUs, I have quarantined myself away from my husband and kids. I feel very alone in a full house. When I come home, I unload all my belongings at the front door. I no longer carry a purse or lunch bag. I go straight to shower, then come out and wipe everything down. I talk to everyone and check in to make sure all of the e-learning assignments are completed and that all of their school projects are done. I look forward to going back to the way things were prior to COVID. I can’t wait to hug and kiss my family again.” — Betty Mestousis, registered nurse anesthetist, acute care nurse practitioner, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
“I really miss seeing my students. When I teach in a classroom, I observe their faces, their body language, and the tone of their voices when they ask or answer questions. When I lecture to a computer screen, I get none of that information. I don’t know if what I’m teaching is getting through or not. It’s especially strange to end the semester remotely. I don’t get to hand out candy at the end of the final exam or give final words of encouragement. I hope some of my students stay in touch. I respect them tremendously for the work they’re doing to keep progressing toward their nursing careers.” — Lise Hauser, advanced practice registered nurse, certified nurse midwife, assistant professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
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“I am in education, and up until last week, I was busy at work. Wearing a mask and teaching — and keeping students 6 feet apart — was challenging and required creative solutions. But it was fun. As of now, I am not allowed to work. I am essentially retired and work per diem. The hospital cannot pay me to teach. It feels wrong to be at home when so many are working without enough staff. I am a regular volunteer at the local homeless shelter medical clinic. And I will be making cloth and Tyvek gowns for a pediatric dental office. In my 51 years of being a nurse, I never dreamed that we would be where we are.” — Harriet Hawkins, critical care and pediatric registered nurse, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago
What we’re thankful for
Karena Brown, 31, stands May 3, 2020, outside Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she is a general medicine patient care manager. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
“Living through this process would not be possible without the support of my colleagues, friends and family. Their support has meant the world to me. Friends have cooked meals and left them on my doorstep, had food delivered to my hospital and even offered to do my laundry. Even the small text messages asking me how I am doing has a huge impact on my well-being. The support from them and the surrounding community has been overwhelmingly kind, and it has helped give me the drive to come to work each shift, ready to take on the day.” — Karena Brown, medical-surgical registered nurse, nurse manager, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
Beth Calderon, from left, Mei Luna and Susan Buechele. (Alexander Barrido; Saint Anthony Hospital; Loyola University)
“The quality of patient care remains unchanged, as I’m learning to provide that care and reassurance through telehealth. I truly miss being able to have the personal interaction in person and with my family as well.” — Beth Calderon, licensed practical nurse, AMITA Health Asthma and Allergy, Bloomingdale
“Living through this pandemic is something I never thought I would do. It can be overwhelming at times, but knowing how much support I have reassures me that we will get through this tough time together. I want to thank the front lines for working hard and dedicating their time to help everyone in need.” — Mei Luna, pediatrics registered nurse, Saint Anthony Hospital, Chicago
“Most of all, I think this pandemic has provided me with a profound sense of pride and gratitude for my fellow nurses, who are adjusting to their new normal. Many nurses are working tirelessly on the front lines as they provide care for patients in their most vulnerable moments.” — Susan Buechele, pediatric nurse practitioner, Evolve Pediatrics, Orland Park; assistant professor, Loyola University Chicago
Meghan Donahue. (University of Chicago Medicine)
“Camaraderie, courage and gratitude are three words that come to mind when I think about this pandemic and the new norm it has created for me. There is a palpable sense of teamwork among the doctors, nurses and ancillary departments throughout the hospital. It has revealed the tenacity and courage of the staff and has allowed me to appreciate what an honor it is to be a part of the UChicago Medicine team. The generous support of our community and leadership have allowed for all of this. It is the small acts of kindness that create a silver lining to this pandemic, and we are so grateful.” — Meghan Donahue, emergency department charge nurse, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago
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What matters most
Patricia Meade, second from right, and fellow nurses at AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet. (Patricia Meade)
“Continuing the daily fight to ensure nurses have safe staffing and the needed PPE required to care for their patients.” — Patricia Meade, registered nurse, AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center, Joliet
Amanda Farrell, clockwise from left, P. Ann Solari-Twadell, Diana Hackbarth and Gazalla Mistry. (Kristie Adelmann; Robert Solari; Diana Hackbarth; Gazalla Mistry)
“Every time I come home from a shift, my priority is keeping my grandma, with whom I live, as safe as possible. But to accomplish that, we’ve both had to make sacrifices, such as not seeing our loved ones. Having patience and reminding myself that every day we are one step closer to the end is crucial. Also, I can choose to be grateful for the many blessings I do have: the technology that allows me to FaceTime friends and family; access to running water to clean myself and my scrubs as needed; and that the whole medical community is working tirelessly to treat the virus and find a cure.” — Amanda Farrell, COVID-19 unit registered nurse, Advocate Trinity Hospital, Chicago
“As a nurse educator, it has been very good to remain connected to undergraduate nursing students. This calls for me to prayerfully go about my day, listening carefully to not just the words spoken by students, but the emotion and energy present or not. Personally, self-care is of essence. It is easy to work, as it is endless. What is more of a challenge is having fun, laughing and maintaining a good sense of humor. Providing support to colleagues is also a primary focus. Joining other faculty in raising money to have meals sent to the hospital staff is one small way to let them know they are not alone in all they are doing to care for others.” — P. Ann Solari-Twadell, registered nurse, associate professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
“Our nurse-led team at the grant-funded clinic at Proviso East High School in Maywood offers free primary health care, behavioral health and nutrition services for adolescents at the high school and surrounding middle schools. With schools closed, our clinic quickly switched to providing telehealth services. Students can get needed health information and continue therapy for behavioral health issues while sheltering at home. We know that telehealth may be the ‘new normal’ for quite some time.” — Diana Hackbarth, registered nurse, clinic project director, professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
“As a director of nursing, I keep the focus on safety of patients and employees. Communication with patients, families and employees is a priority every day. The uncertainty and unprecedented nature of COVID-19 makes it very scary. Changes in policy and procedures every day make it difficult to keep the focus, but the nurse managers and I are staying strong and doing everything we can to embrace our new normal.” — Gazalla Mistry, director of nursing, registered nurse, Symphony Post Acute Network, Hanover Park
How we adapt
Dalia and Milda Sawicki, clockwise from left, Ann Moon and John Pucker. (Brendan Namoff; UChicago Medicine; John Pucker)
“How do we deal with the new norm? Well, I’m lucky enough to be going through this with my sister at my side. At a time when so much is unpredictable, having her here in the ICU to lean on is a blessing. Not to mention two Sawicki sisters are better than one.” — Milda Sawicki, cardiac ICU registered nurse, Rush Medical Center, Chicago
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“One of a medical ICU nurse’s greatest strengths is adapting to change at any given moment. We are evolving our practice to include the roles that families would normally serve in the most vulnerable time of a patient’s life. My co-workers and I have developed a familial bond and have become a stronger team. We truly have not provided better care or been more dedicated to our mission. We have never felt this level of support and recognition from our community. It’s an honor to be able to work with such a great team of nurses.” — Ann Moon, medical ICU nurse, University of Chicago Medical Center
“I am living through the new norm by changing my educational offerings to my students to online learning using face-to-face technology and screen-sharing technology. As a critical care/emergency and transport advanced practice nurse, I have volunteered my services to the Illinois Department of Public Health through HELPS Illinois and am part of the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Institution volunteer force and the IDPH Transfer Team.” — John Pucker, advanced practice nurse, clinical nurse specialist, assistant professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
Vicki Bacidore, counter-clockwise from top left, Fran Vlasses, Kate Foster and Brendan Namoff. (Loyola University; Peter Vlasses; Kate Foster; Brendan Namoff)
“I work as an emergency nurse practitioner and nursing professor. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, nurse practitioner students had to transition to all online learning and testing. Having patience and resiliency has been the new norm, and I believe we will all adjust and be better positioned to handle the next outbreak or whatever comes next. Nurses have the ability to face adverse situations, remained focused, prioritize and be optimistic for the future.” — Vicki Bacidore, advanced practice registered nurse, acute care nurse practitioner, certified emergency nurse, assistant professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
“New norm? Just add ZOOM. Next-gen nurses, teachers, researchers: Caring made visible.” — Fran Vlasses, registered nurse, professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
“I have worked in the emergency department for nearly 10 years. I have seen a lot of change, but never as much or as quickly as this. I try my best to focus on the positives, such as the overwhelming sense of teamwork that we have experienced. We rely on creativity, ingenuity and collaboration more than ever before to develop ways to keep things safe while maintaining the same excellent compassionate patient care we delivered before this.” — Kate Foster, pediatric emergency registered nurse, clinical director, Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield
“I’ve been video chatting with friends and family to feel connected while enjoying this new, uninterrupted home life with my fiancee and dog. Trying to use this time to be productive by honing my KDR in ‘Call of Duty.’” — Brendan Namoff, cardiac ICU registered nurse, Rush Medical Center, Chicago
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Lorna Finnegan, counter-clockwise from left, Leah McClellan, Aly Rifkin and Ashley Zepeda, and Nicolas Kruckenberg. (Lorna Finnegan; Jackie Weber; Brendan Namoff; Nicolas Krucken)
“I started as dean of Loyola’s School of Nursing on July 1 and never imagined that my first year as a new dean would include leading through a pandemic. I am balancing leading through crisis with managing the present. Our faculty, staff and students have pivoted hour by hour and made rapid adjustments to the ways that we teach and deliver patient care. I am proud to be the dean of this exceptional school of nursing. Congratulations to our 2020 graduates, who are our next generation of health care heroes.” — Lorna Finnegan, registered nurse, family nurse practitioner, dean, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
“On a personal level, I live through the new norm with as much routine as possible, even when the balance of responsibilities of work and home-schooling topple. As a nurse practitioner in an outpatient setting, I have adjusted to seeing patients online, while trying to keep up with research and resources that will best support them in the context of individual and collective challenges. As I live through this new norm, I have a heightened sense of gratitude for my nursing colleagues and nurses everywhere.” — Leah McClellan, registered nurse, instructor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
“I’m adapting by taking my dog for long walks and enjoying time outside. I’m also adapting by running, reading and keeping in touch with family via Zoom to watch my baby niece and nephew grow. We also have trivia night with family via Zoom.” — Aly Rifkin, cardiac ICU registered nurse, Rush Medical Center, Chicago
“In addition to the ICU staff that’s here every day, we’ve had assistance from other departments throughout the hospital. That’s been invaluable. We’ve always worked together, but caring for these patients has forced us to trust each other and rely on everyone’s expertise in a new way that we will carry forward.” — Nicolas Kruckenberg, ICU registered nurse, Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, McHenry
Cindy Barwegen, left, and Lisa Skemp. (Cindy Barwegen; Klienpeter Photography)
“Not there yet; learning to have more patience. Not happy. Miss going out, eating too much, walking outside, feeling more tired when at home, looking forward to work — it gets me out of the house!” — Cindy Barwegen, emergency registered nurse
“As a nurse, of course I support my family, friends, neighbors and the faculty members and nursing students who are doing this work in the community, nursing homes and acute care. This means daily Zoom meetings and phone calls to check in, offer support and facilitate access to resources. It is an honor to be a nurse and, in particular, a Loyola nurse.” — Lisa Skemp, registered nurse, professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
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What weighs on us
Sharon Sullivan, a nurse at Community First Medical Center, stands in front of her home before leaving for a 12-hour shift May 1, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
“I can’t imagine my kids going through life without me. I’m a single mom. I did make a commitment to nursing, but I have also have a commitment to these kids.” — Sharon Sullivan, 49, nurse at Community First Medical Center, Chicago
Jose Mendoza, from left, Katherina Lou Martin and Laura De La Pena. (Saint Anthony Hospital; UChicago Medicine; Annali De La Pena)
“It is unbelievable the impact COVID-19 has brought to our lives. This crisis has not only impacted my career, but also my personal life. I wake up in the morning thinking about my family and pray for the best. It is heartbreaking having limited interaction with my son because of the fear that something could happen to him.
“This disease does not discriminate. I see people of all ages fighting for their lives. It is very sad when you see low-income families being affected and have no insurance to pay their bills. Many times, a patient requires home oxygen but does not have money to pay for it. Although most of these patients receive assistance from the hospital, the number of new cases is very alarming. Although these experiences have been life-altering, I am confident that we will all overcome this with the support of both family at home and at work.” — Jose Mendoza, emergency department registered nurse, Saint Anthony Hospital, Chicago
“It’s been heartbreaking not to get to see or hug our family members, as most of us have been isolating ourselves when we get home to protect our families from getting sick. We live through this new norm by preparing ourselves mentally, emotionally and physically as we go to work. This pandemic has given us the opportunity to care for sick patients and be their source of strength, as no family members are allowed to visit them in the hospital. This pandemic has taught us to become more resilient, care for one another at work and be hopeful that this, too, shall pass.” — Katherina Lou Martin, COVID-19 unit charge nurse, University of Chicago Medical Center
“This COVID-19 world emergency sets everything we are trained to do into motion. And thinking about nurses and doctors seeing large numbers of deaths without relief is sobering, and hits hard. I am completing my doctoral degree work in nursing during Nurses Week. So all of these things are weighing on me during what should be a huge relief of an accomplishment. Now, I have added a sense of urgency. While I still work at our university hospital, I know returning to teaching nursing students within a clinical setting has significantly changed for the foreseeable future.” — Laura De La Pena, certified registered nurse, clinical instructor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
Doris Carroll, left, and Saundra Sobczak. (Doris Carroll; Michelle Kmiec)
“It’s difficult — to decide to come to work, to answer the calls, emails and texts of nurses in need of answers, who wonder if they will be infected or bring it home to their family. I wonder why hospital administrators failed to prepare for this pandemic. It’s difficult. I am not a hero. Nor a martyr. Nor is any nurse I work with. We are here because we care for each other and our patients. And we will survive.” — Doris Carroll, registered nurse, vice president, Illinois Nurses Association
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“As nurses, we are used to adapting to ever-changing conditions. It’s made me realize I am not afraid (for myself). I have never once put on PPE for me. I am afraid for my family. I am afraid to infect my next patient who is immunocompromised. I am afraid to infect my co-workers. This isn’t necessarily the new normal; this is the normal for an ER nurse.” — Saundra Sobczak, emergency room registered nurse, Edward Hospital, Naperville
Lorna Mayers, left, and Megan Bartolome. (Saint Anthony Hospital; Megan Bartolome)
“Every morning when I leave home, I am more prayerful. This pandemic has made me think more about the fragility of life. I try to appreciate each moment of my day. I am really proud of all my colleagues — from housekeeping to our doctors. Front-line workers should all be appreciated for their continuous dedication.” — Lorna Mayers, medical surgery registered nurse, Saint Anthony Hospital, Chicago
“Living through this new normal during the global pandemic has drastically changed my life. Taking all of the precautions to stay safe and keep everyone safe. No matter how stressful mentally and physically work can be, I leave knowing that I made a difference.” — Megan Bartolome, telemetry registered nurse, AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Elk Grove Village
“Perhaps the most painful thing so far has been the way misinformation and partisanship have shaped this crisis. I see protests and posts on Facebook where people ignore recommendations to wear masks. Anti-lockdown protestors berate the calm, counter-protesting nurses with comments like, ‘You’re disgusting.’
“I don’t understand when health became political, or when health providers became untrusted. If we wear masks, it is to protect the vulnerable. That is what we dedicate our lives to as nurses; advocating for those who do not have the resources or ability to advocate for themselves. We believe in ‘we, not me.’ Putting on a mask is a minor inconvenience compared with dying on a ventilator, or having to say a final goodbye to your loved one over an iPad.” — Amanda Peacock, not pictured, registered nurse, assistant professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing
Alison Bowen, Karen Cullotta, Kate Douglas, Christen A. Johnson, Ray Long, Nara Schoenberg, Rochell Sleets, Saleema Syed, David Syrek, Kate Thayer, Kasondra Van Treeck and Alice Yin contributed to this report.
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archeung@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-06--Latino communities in Illinois see uptick in COVID-19 confirmed cases: ‘Physical distancing is a pri

Latino communities in Illinois see uptick in COVID-19 confirmed cases: ‘Physical distancing is a privilege’

“ Latinos are feeling a good part of the brunt of the disproportionate impact that the pandemic is having on @ @ @ @ @ you consider that for years now they ’ ve been under direct attack from the @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s no wonder that they aren ’ t as likely to seek @ @ @ @ @ .
“ And too , they were left out of the provisions of the bills @ @ @ @ @ far for treatment .
”

Elvia Malagón, Hal Dardick, Cecilia Reyes, Jessica Villagomez

As a wave of coronavirus infections spreads through Latino neighborhoods in Chicago, one health site in Little Village has seen people so sick with the new coronavirus that they’ve passed out while waiting to get tested.
The testing facility, a collaboration between Howard Brown Health and Project VIDA, has tested 1,175 people since April 16, and a majority — about 56% — have tested positive for COVID-19 and almost all are exhibiting multiple symptoms. By Tuesday, the clinic had gotten results for 761 tests but was still awaiting results for the rest.
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“There’s a high probability that anyone in that neighborhood has been exposed,” said David Ernesto Munar, the president and CEO of Howard Brown Health who noted that it’s one of the highest positive rates it has seen among the testing facilities it is running in Chicago.
Data on cases and coronavirus-related deaths is opening a window into how hard the pandemic is hitting Latino communities. Across Illinois, Latino-majority areas have the highest number of confirmed cases, and on average, tests in those areas come back positive 41% of the time. As of Tuesday, a ZIP code in South Lawndale, which includes Little Village, had the highest number of cases in the state, 1,596.
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[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
It’s harder to count the number of Latinos who have died of the new coronavirus because the medical examiner hasn’t until recently been labeling cases with that identifier. But by Tuesday, ZIP codes that include Little Village, with 50 deaths, and Belmont Cragin, with 40, Latino majority-areas, were among the city neighborhoods with the greatest number of fatalities.
Maria Ochoa, 50, inside her home May 5, 2020 in Chicago. Ochoa, her husband and daughter have been sick with COVID-19 and believes her family contracted the virus from her husband's meatpacking job in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Maria Ochoa, 50, of Back of the Yards, is among those who have fallen sick with COVID-19 in recent weeks. She knew about the virus and tried to do all she could at home to keep her family safe.
But at her husband’s job at a meatpacking plant on the South Side, workers were still using a communal kitchen. Then they started to hear about people calling in sick. Finally, members of the family started to get back pain followed by body aches and fevers.
One clinic turned her away, but she was able to get tested at a second. She, her husband and her 28-year-old daughter tested positive for COVID-19, Ochoa said. Two teenage sons appeared to show some symptoms for a day or two.
“I felt like my brain was enlarging,” Ochoa said in Spanish. “I felt like I was dizzy all day. I couldn’t get up. I was in bed for four days, and I didn’t have an appetite.”
On the Northwest Side, a ZIP code in the Humboldt Park neighborhood had the sixth highest infection rate in the city with about a third of the more than 2,500 tests coming back positive for the coronavirus.
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As is the case across the country, many among those living in the area who have died were nursing home residents.
On California Avenue, just east of the park, at least 19 people at Center Home for Hispanic Elderly have died of COVID-19-related complications. A staff member said by phone that workers had been instructed to not speak to the media, and other media have reported the home had not reliably communicated with family members of residents who contracted the virus.
Center Home’s website has no information about the coronavirus, but Gary Mack, a hired spokesman for the nursing home, said there had been 50 confirmed cases among residents, including those who had died, and 23 among nursing home staff..
“Across the county, a lot of nursing homes are suffering from staffing shortages themselves,” Mack said, adding that while the home cannot test in-house, they are following IDPH protocols for anyone who comes in.
Two-thirds of the patients in the COVID-19 unit at Mount Sinai Hospital, on the city’s West Side, are Latinos, said Dr. Sunita Mohapatra, the infectious disease chief at the hospital. A lack of private insurance along with the likelihood of having preexisting conditions could be factoring into the high numbers, she said.
“They’re coming into the hospital when they are already a lot more sick,” she said. “A lot of people are still working, and they are working these jobs that are putting them at risk.”
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Norwegian American Hospital nurses perform a drive-thru coronavirus test on April 28, 2020 in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
A group of 50 elected officials and medical professionals making up the Illinois Latino COVID-19 Initiative has started to push for changes to the state’s response, given the high rate of infection in Latino communities.
The initiative points to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, including that more than 65% of Latinos who were tested turned out to have COVID-19. That may be an indication that many Latinos wait until experiencing severe symptoms before they get tested.
Munar said in Little Village they are seeing a “perfect storm” for spread. Close living quarters for many families make it difficult to self-isolate, and many residents are essential workers. About 80% who have been tested didn’t have insurance, said Christopher Ávalos, the media coordinator for Project VIDA.
“Physical distancing is a privilege,” said Dr. Marina Del Rios, an emergency room physician at University of Illinois in Chicago Medical Center who is part of the initiative.
She and her colleagues at other hospitals are seeing more Latino patients coming in, often after they’ve been sick for some time — making her fearful the death toll also will start to rise, as it did earlier in the African American community.
“Now, the question is, ‘Is this the new wave, the Latino wave?’” she said.
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Stephanie Willding, the CEO at CommunityHealth, a West Town clinic, said she started to get messages from the community about a month ago telling her that people were sick but were scared to seek medical help. The pandemic intensified just as the Trump administration started to implement the “public charge” rule, which could penalize immigrants who seek public benefits. The clinic, which provides health care to those without insurance, was able to start drive-thru testing last week.
The clinic is able to process 10 to 20 tests per day, and about 45% of the tests are coming back positive, Willding said.
To help fight COVID-19, Munar said Howard Brown Health has been using the same methods of contract tracing it has used for years to stem the spread of HIV. But efforts are often delayed because test results can take days to come back, Munar said.
Many said expansive testing is needed in Latino communities. Del Rios and others said testing should include federal qualified health centers or community-based organizations, which immigrants tend to trust more than a hospital.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Illinois, is pushing for a host of actions on the federal front, while also talking to state officials to see where gaps can be filled if the federal government does not act.
“Latinos are feeling a good part of the brunt of the disproportionate impact that the pandemic is having on the country, and when you consider that for years now they’ve been under direct attack from the president, from his administration, it’s no wonder that they aren’t as likely to seek testing,” Garcia said. “And too, they were left out of the provisions of the bills that we have passed so far for treatment.”
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City officials said in a statement that Mayor Lori Lightfoot has tasked the Mayor’s Office of Racial Equity Rapid Response Team, initially set up to respond to COVID-19 disparities in the African American community, with creating “a bilingual and strategic plan to aggressively and effectively support Chicago’s Latinx community.” The plan, they said, will include a new communications strategy and community outreach. The city is working with nonprofits, the media, elected officials, the Mexican Consulate and labor unions on the effort.
To get a better picture of the pandemic and lessen the spread in Latino communities, Cook County officials are setting up testing sites at county health centers. One will be at the North Riverside Health Center, which serves communities like Cicero, Berwyn and Melrose Park that have majority Latino populations. Of Chicago suburbs, the highest number of cases as of Tuesday were in Cicero, 89% Latino, which had 1,325 COVID-19 cases, followed by Des Plaines, with a 19% Latino population, with 874, according county data.
The county also is working with community groups that already serve Latinos to provide services that people may need to isolate if they are sick and quarantine if they’ve come into contact with infected people. In addition, the county is working with community groups to plan for tracing the contacts of infected people, a program Gov. J.B. Pritzker says must be expanded statewide before he lifts his stay-at-home order.
The hope is that Latinos will “have the confidence that when they get a phone call because they have a positive test, that we’re not there to get personal information because we’re reporting them to an agency,” said Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer for the county Department of Public Health. “No, we’re doing that because we’re trying to protect them and their families and their communities.”
In Brighton Park, access to food also has become a real problem, said Arturo Carrillo, director of health and violence prevention for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. Food pantries in the area have run out of food, and some people are having trouble getting groceries.
The area is filled with essential workers, but many aren’t eligible for unemployment benefits or federal stimulus funds, Carrillo said.
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Outside of Cook County, Latinos have fewer resources and less information is provided in Spanish, said Eréndira Rendón, who works with the Chicago-based Resurrection Project. Several of Rendón’s relatives in suburban counties have gotten sick with COVID-19, and she’s helped guide them through the process of trying to get tested. Some, like her father, were never able to get tested.
Rendón said state officials should have a coordinated plan for the Latino community that includes more Spanish-speakers during the daily briefings.
“Most people don’t live here (in Chicago), it’s too expensive now,” Rendón said. “We don’t have a Cook County health system out there. So I think that adds another layer of accessibility.”


chicagotribune--2020-05-06--‘Mommy’s not coming back.’ Another Chicago-area nurse dies of COVID-19.

“ This disease is so vicious and unpredictable , we have to do whatever we can to eradicate it , @ @ @ @ @ If it means to stay home , then just do it , please .
That @ @ @ @ @ say if she were here : Just stay home .
”

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Krist Angielen Guzman's husband, Omar Guzman, and their three children stand outside their Bolingbrook home as a hearse carries Krist's body away on May 8, 2020. Family and friends prayed and released balloons. Krist, 35, died May 2 of complications related to COVID-19. She was a nurse at Meadowbrook Manor of Bolingbrook. Her husband also has tested positive, the family said. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
Five months ago, Krist Angielen Guzman gave birth to her third child.
She named the boy Leandro after her maternal grandfather and an uncle, a renowned pediatric surgeon in the Philippines whom she idolized. He had fueled her passion for medicine at a young age and inspired Guzman to fulfill it by becoming a nurse.
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In a cruel coincidence, one month and thousands of miles apart, Guzman and her uncle both died after contracting COVID-19 while working on the pandemic’s medical front lines.
Guzman, 35, died May 2 after a short battle with the disease. She is one of at least 25 medical professionals across Illinois who have died of complications related to the virus. Nearly 5,000 have tested positive, said state public health officials, who acknowledge the exact figure is unknown and likely higher.
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On her last shift at a Bolingbrook nursing home before falling ill, nurse Krist Angielen Guzman posted this photo on April 23, 2020, on Facebook showing her in protective gear. She wrote, "These are the days of our lives," and included hashtags that said "proud nurse" and "praying for my patients." Guzman, a 35-year-old mother of three from Bolingbrook, died days later on May 2 of a COVID-19 illness. (Krist Angielen Guzman)
Both Guzman and her husband, Omar, worked at Meadowbrook Manor Bolingbrook which, with 10 deaths and 93 confirmed coronavirus cases among residents and employees, is one of the hardest-hit nursing homes in the state, public health data showed.
Omar Guzman tested positive for the virus as well but so far has not experienced symptoms and is not hospitalized, according to the family. Aside from Leandro, their infant son, the Bolingbrook couple also has a 6-year-old daughter and another boy, who is 5.
“We are just devastated,” said Jeschelyn Pilar, a cousin who created a fundraiser to support the family. “We are so worried about (Omar) and the kids.”
Krist Angielen Guzman’s parents and two younger siblings, all of whom live out of state, drove to Illinois this week and are staying with Pilar’s south suburban family to help make memorial arrangements. Both of Guzman’s siblings work in the medical field as well.
Guzman was born in the Philippines, and her name, Krist Angielen, is a nod to her birthday a few days after Christmas — and a combination of the first names of her parents, Angel and Lillie Castro.
The family moved a lot during her childhood due to her father’s career in the U.S. Navy. She lived in Japan and California before she attended high school in Iceland, when her dad was stationed there at a naval base.
“She taught me everything, from driving to makeup to hair and music,” said her sister Kayla Clayton, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, who is 10 years younger. “She taught me how to treat people and to always be honest and loyal and not to be scared if I had something to say.”
Clayton said her sister loved Justin Timberlake’s music throughout her life. She described her sister as the glue that held her family together.
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After high school, Guzman lived with Pilar’s family while attending the University of Illinois at Chicago for a year. Guzman spent time in Europe but made her way back to Illinois more than a decade ago and began studying nursing. She met her future husband at Meadowbrook Manor, where Omar Guzman also worked, and they married in June 2013.
Pilar said Krist Angielen Guzman was strong and determined, never one to shy away from hard work or voicing her opinion. She was only a couple of classes away from achieving a higher degree in nursing, always striving to be better.
“She knew what she wanted in life and just went for it,” Pilar said. “She was fierce and vivacious. She was so curious about the world around her and always advocated for those in need.”
When Guzman fell ill, she was excitedly planning a trip to Disney World for her children. Her family said she was a devoted mother who read to her children at night and tried to instill good values in them.
“She valued her family above everything,” Pilar said.
Guzman’s family said she enjoyed working with the elderly at the Bolingbrook nursing home but grew nervous as the virus spread, especially after her uncle, Dr. Leandro Resurreccion III, 57, died on March 31 in the Philippines. The pediatric surgeon was considered a pioneer in his field, especially in liver transplants, and was affiliated with various hospitals.
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Guzman posted about her loss days later on social media, recounting how, when she was a child, her uncle would tell her about his patients and show her his medical instruments and photographs in his medical books.
“My earliest memory of him was waiting for him at the front window as he walked up the driveway in his scrubs coming home from work,” she wrote April 2 on Facebook. “He has always been my idol and I wanted to be just like him!”
After his death, Guzman — who had a runny nose and cough — sought testing for the virus. She was negative, her cousin said, and diagnosed instead with strep throat. She missed 14 days of work while recovering and returned on April 20.
Three days later, Guzman posted photos of herself at work wearing a mask and goggles for protection from COVID-19.
“These are the days of our lives,” she wrote, a message that included hashtags proclaiming she was a “proud nurse” and “praying for my patients.”
But her family said Guzman had complained to them about inadequate protective gear at work. They said she began making her own masks at home for extra protection and bought her own goggles. They said the facility eventually provided face shields for its staff.
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Within days of her last post, Pilar said, Guzman developed mild virus-related symptoms. Her last day at work was April 23.
She was again tested for the coronavirus on April 25, and checked into a hotel alone so as not to possibly expose her family. Her results came two days later, and this time showed she was positive.
Pilar said that while Guzman joked about being bored as she self-quarantined in the hotel that week, she was otherwise in good spirits — despite a steady fever above 100 degrees. But things took a turn. On May 1, she was admitted to the hospital with low oxygen levels and labored breathing.
She was scared, but “in no way, shape or form did she think she’d pass away from this,” Pilar said. “She was a fighter. She said, ‘I’m going to kick COVID’s butt.’”
Guzman died that next evening after going into cardiac arrest while intubated at Amita Health Adventist Medical Center Bolingbrook, a hospital across the street from the nursing facility where she and her husband worked.
In a statement from Meadowbrook officials, a spokeswoman said the company followed state and federal guidelines as it took “aggressive proactive measures to protect their residents and staff by creating an isolation unit designed to isolate and care for symptomatic residents within the facility.”
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Guzman worked as a floor nurse and was not assigned to the isolation unit, the spokeswoman said.
“We are mourning the loss of our friend, co-worker, and loving caregiver,” the statement continued. “We offer our deepest condolences to her family along with our prayers for healing and comfort.”
The nurse’s family, though, said she did work with COVID-19 patients. Pilar said they have unanswered questions about whether proper safety precautions were in place at the facility. For now, though, they are focused on helping Guzman’s husband to beat the virus and hold a funeral for his wife.
Pilar said Omar Guzman had the heartbreaking duty of telling their oldest children what had happened.
“He said he told them the truth, that ‘Mommy’s not coming back,’” she said.
Pilar’s fundraising page for the family had collected more than $40,000 by Wednesday. She urged the public, in Guzman’s memory and for others who are risking their lives to contain the virus, to heed safety guidelines regarding sheltering at home and social distancing.
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“This disease is so vicious and unpredictable, we have to do whatever we can to eradicate it,” Pilar said. “If it means to stay home, then just do it, please. That’s what she would say if she were here: Just stay home.”
cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-06--Column: Ida B. Wells, awarded a Pulitzer Prize 89 years after her death, is as relevant as ever

If you have not read the work of Ida B .
Wells , now is the time .
Much of @ @ @ @ @ from her life dating back to 1884 are available online through the University of Chicago @ @ @ @ @ , manuscripts and news clippings offer an up-close account of what bravery looks like in @ @ @ @ @

A photo shows Ida B. Wells-Barnett with her son Charles Aked Barnett, circa 1917-1919. On display at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago in 2015, the photo was on loan from the University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center, Ida B. Wells Papers. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Ida B. Wells was awarded a Pulitzer Prize on Monday, a symbolic gesture that cemented her place in history as a great American journalist.
With or without public accolades, she has always belonged there.
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Wells’ fearless pursuit of justice during an era of mass lynchings set her apart from other journalists at the time. But like the issues she so passionately wrote about more than a century ago, recognition was not deemed urgent.
If you have not read the work of Ida B. Wells, now is the time. Much of her writings and other documents from her life dating back to 1884 are available online through the University of Chicago Library. The archival diaries, manuscripts and news clippings offer an up-close account of what bravery looks like in the face of terror.
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Wells’ timeless pieces were written as blacks were under siege by rebel racists who killed rather than relinquish their positions of privilege. Even as she risked being lynched, she refused to back down from saying exactly what needed to be said.
Her reporting resonates today as much as it ever did. And there is much Americans can learn from it.
Though years have passed since lynchings regularly occurred, the societal issues of disenfranchisement, entitlement and denial that cultivated an environment in which the atrocities could flourish still exist.
Wells wasn’t only adept at pointing out the horrors of lynching — she did so in a way that exposed the hypocrisy of America itself, from its founding on the principles of democracy to its betrayal of the black people who helped build this nation.
One of her most relevant pieces, “How Enfranchisement Stops Lynchings,” was published in Original Rights Magazine in 1910. It is as relevant today as it was then. While the piece gives historical context to lynchings, it also provides a powerful subtext that addresses voter suppression.
It is fitting that the Pulitzer jury awarded the coveted special citation to the Chicago journalist posthumously in 2020, the year of an important presidential election.
No stronger message could be relayed today as America struggles with the disenfranchisement of the black vote. In what has been defined as a throwback to the Jim Crow South, African Americans and other minorities are facing insurmountable pressures at the polls.
Their names have been summarily erased from the voting rolls. Strict voter identification laws are being enacted in an attempt to make it harder for them to cast a ballot. Polling places are relocated to isolated places that are hard to get to. Once there, people must to wait in line for hours, often outside in the rain and cold.
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Wells began her article about disenfranchisement this way: “The Negro question has been present with the American people in one form or another since the landing of the Dutch Slaveship at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619.”
What a resounding statement at a time when black people, though slavery had been abolished, were still considered to be a commodity.
She went on to reveal how the 14 slaves who arrived on the first ship were “harnessed to the plow” and forced to till the land to make it prosperous in an inhumane way that the colonists never would have done themselves.
Their value was undeniable, and “fourteen slaves became four million.”
“Their unrequited toil had made this country blossom as a rose, created vast wealth for the masters and made the United States one of the mighty nations of the earth,” she elegantly wrote.
Even the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, which provided equal protection under the law to former slaves and granted black men the right to vote, became a mockery, she said.
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“These rights were denied first by violence and bloodshed, by ku-klux klans, who during the first years after the Civil War murdered Negroes by wholesale, for attempting to exercise the rights given by these amendments, and for trusting the government which was powerful enough to give them the ballot,” she wrote.
She went on to describe how the government colluded with Jim Crow to repeal federal civil rights legislation and allow states to disenfranchise black people by writing their own local constitutions.
Meanwhile, black people lost everything they had earned since slavery — their homes, their land and even the chance for a quality education for their children. But all of it would go away, the government promised, “if (the black man) gave up trying to vote (and) minded his own business.”
The irony of it, Wells surmised, is that the efforts to keep black people from having a ballot could only occur because black people had no ballot.
“With no sacredness of the ballot there can be no sacredness of human life itself,” she wrote. “For if the strong can take the weak man’s ballot, when it suits his purpose to do so, he will take his life also.”
For writings such as this, Wells was threatened and labeled a liar and a race agitator.
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Perhaps it is no coincidence that she was honored as the journalism industry is under siege and individual journalists are as likely to be considered villains who spread lies as they are conveyors of the truth.
Wells weathered the blatant attempts to discredit her work. She would not cower to demoralizing attacks by those who would benefit from her silence.
Today’s journalists must strive to be the kind of relentless crusaders she was. The passion Wells exhibited for pulling back the curtain of inequality and racial terrorism isn’t taught in journalism school. It’s something that grows in your gut, and over time, becomes an integral part of you.
Pursuing truth was Wells’ life’s mission until her death in 1931. America is better off because of her, but the equality for which she advocated, remains far from fruition.
Awarding her the Pulitzer Prize pushes our country a little bit closer to achieving it.
dglanton@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @dahleeng


chicagotribune--2020-05-06--Man found on Red Line tracks in critical condition, police say

Officers responded to a call of a man on the tracks at 12:40 a.m. near the 47th Street station on @ @ @ @ @ said .
A man was found on the tracks and taken in critical condition to @ @ @ @ @ Center with cuts to his body and several broken bones .

A man was found critically injured on the CTA Red Line tracks early Wednesday, according to Chicago police.
Officers responded to a call of a man on the tracks at 12:40 a.m. near the 47th Street station on the South Side, police said. The man was taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center with cuts to his body and several broken bones.
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It’s unknown if he was hit by a train, police said.
Check back for updates.
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pfry@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @paigexfry


chicagotribune--2020-05-06--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s PAC selling meme-inspired ‘stay home, save lives’ merchandise for cha

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s PAC selling meme-inspired ‘stay home, save lives’ merchandise for charity

Though the memes and video campaign have boosted Lightfoot ’ s national profile and drawn praise to the mayor for @ @ @ @ @ she also has faced criticism for getting a haircut even though barbers and stylists were @ @ @ @ @ ’ s stay-at-home order .
The mayor defended the decision by saying she ’ s @ @ @ @ @ and noting that her stylist wore a mask and gloves during the haircut .

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wears a mask as she prepares to speak about the coronavirus economic recovery plan April 23, 2020, at the Historic Water Tower. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is selling “stay home, save lives” shirts and stickers to benefit COVID-19 charities, her political director announced.
The merchandise is available online and based on a design created by local artist Mike Noren, political director Dave Mellet said in an email to supporters on Tuesday.
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Lightfoot’s shirts and stickers depict the mayor looking stern next to the Chicago skyline over the words, “stay home save lives.” The T-shirts run $30, while a three-pack of stickers is $8.
All proceeds after printing and shipping will go to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and if demand is high, they’ll add a few others, Mellett said.
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The mayor’s merchandise plays off popular internet memes that depict her enforcing stay-at-home orders. The memes, some of which are collected on the “Where’s Lightfoot?” Instagram page, flooded social media after Lightfoot ordered the city’s Lakefront Trail and key parks closed to the public as an anti-coronavirus measure.
As part of her awareness campaign, Lightfoot also has launched a humorous series of public service announcements.
Though the memes and video campaign have boosted Lightfoot’s national profile and drawn praise to the mayor for strong leadership and humor, she also has faced criticism for getting a haircut even though barbers and stylists were shut down under the state’s stay-at-home order. The mayor defended the decision by saying she’s the face of the city and noting that her stylist wore a mask and gloves during the haircut.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @royalpratt


chicagotribune--2020-05-06--Fermilab physicists go outside comfort zone to help design low-cost ventilator to fight COVID-19

There have been myriad efforts from academia and industry to ramp up production of ventilators to ease potential shortages amid @ @ @ @ @ between General Motors and a Seattle medical device maker began producing ventilators at GM ’ @ @ @ @ @ plant late last month .
The first shipment of those machines went to Chicago hospitals @ @ @ @ @ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been working on a simple ventilator that could be plugged @ @ @ @ @ run without electricity .

Particle physics and medical device manufacturing may have little in common, but in the middle of a global health emergency scientists at Fermilab found they had a lot to offer the effort to meet demand for ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients.
What they lacked in medical engineering acumen, they made up for with the ability to collaborate and solve complicated scientific questions across oceans.
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Working with colleagues in Italy and Canada, as well as scientists in France, Spain and few other places, the group has designed a portable, low-cost ventilator that still is capable of the most precise functions that bulkier, costlier machines provide, said Stephen Brice, a particle physicist who heads Fermilab’s Neutrino Division.
The machine won fast-tracked approval on May 1 from the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States. It will be made by an Italian manufacturer, Elemaster.
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A prototype of the Mechanical Ventilator Milano, designed by Fermilab physicists and engineers, is assembled at an Italian factory of the device maker, Elemaster. (MVM Collaboration/Fermilab/HANDOUT)
Drawings for the Mechanical Ventilator Milano, designed by Fermilab physicists and engineers with colleagues in Europe and Canada. (MVM Collaboration/Fermilab/HANDOUT)
There have been myriad efforts from academia and industry to ramp up production of ventilators to ease potential shortages amid the pandemic. A partnership between General Motors and a Seattle medical device maker began producing ventilators at GM’s Kokomo, Indiana, plant late last month. The first shipment of those machines went to Chicago hospitals. Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been working on a simple ventilator that could be plugged into hospital oxygen supplies and run without electricity.
The Fermilab team believes its machine, while also cheap and portable, is different because of its sophisticated software and controls.
“This is a ventilator designed for the ICU … optimized for COVID patients,” Brice said.
The Fermilab project started with physicists in Italy who were living through a spike of the pandemic there and hearing from doctors about the technical demands the disease placed on ventilators, according to Fermilab.
“The sense of crisis was palpable, and I knew the availability of ventilators was critical,” said Christiano Galbiati, an Italian physicist who started the ball rolling on the project. “We had been doing some complicated projects in physics that required working with gases, and I thought it our duty to find a way to push oxygen into the lungs of patients.”
When the coronavirus attacks human lungs, the infection inflames cells and impedes the body’s ability to transfer oxygen from breathing into the bloodstream. For the sickest patients, a ventilator is needed to force oxygen through the lungs.
However, doctors and scientists in Italy were finding that COVID-19 patients were susceptible to serious lung damage if oxygen was pushed too hard or too fast, Brice said.
“It’s a pretty unusual disease,” he said. Much of the most complicated work in designing the Mechanical Ventilator Milano, as it’s been dubbed, involved the software and electronics needed to make a simple, cheap machine assert really precise control over the flow of oxygen.
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The mechanics of the machine are not new, he said. “The real difference is the modern controls and software.”
Work was able to continue nearly 24 hours a day, Brice said, because the teams were on different continents. Italian scientists would work on coding for the software during the day and then hand off to Americans when night fell in Europe.
A total cost for the ventilators has not been set, Brice said, but the parts in each unit cost less than $1,000. Full-size hospital ventilators cost anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000.
Fermilab scientists, collaborating with physicists around the world and an Italian manufacturer, have produced a low-cost ventilator that still offers the precision and controls of much more sophisticated and expensive machines. (MVM Collaboration/Fermilab/HANDOUT)
It’s unclear where need for the machines will develop first, given that the demand in the United States has ebbed slightly as infection rates in big cities have flattened out. However, Brice believes there will be global demand for the new ventilators as the pandemic spreads across the rest of the world.
“The need for ventilators has been a fluctuating story,” he said. “I think the need in Africa and Asia, and the Third World, for a fully functional yet low-cost ventilator — I fear there may be a significant need.”
For the roughly 15 Fermilab scientists, the project was a sprint to design and produce a ventilator in about a month. It was unlike anything they had ever done, Brice said. Across the world, 50 to 60 scientists were involved.
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“It was energizing and it was exhausting,” he said. “Nothing has prepared us for this. Nothing like this, where 24 hours mattered. But nothing needed to be explained to anyone.”
While the experience may not have practical applications for Fermilab’s usual work exploring the deepest science of energy and matter, the team did learn a lot about teamwork and one another, Brice said.
“You learn a lot about your fellow scientists and fellow engineers because everyone is working in a zone outside of their comfort zone,” he said. “So you learn skills they have that you didn’t know they had.”
dheinzmann@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-06--Gov. J.B. Pritzker lays out five-phase, regional plan for reopening Illinois

In order to move into the third phase of Pritzker ’ s plan , labeled “ recovery , ” the @ @ @ @ @ for the coronavirus would have to be at or under 20 % and increase no @ @ @ @ @ over a 14-day period .
There would have to be no overall increase in hospital @ @ @ @ @ 28 days — and surge capacity of at least 14 % of ICU beds , @ @ @ @ @ have to be available .

Jamie Munks, Dan Petrella, Lisa Schencker

Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
For weeks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been under mounting pressure to reopen the state he shut down in an effort to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, insisting all along he would be guided only by science and data in lifting restrictions.
The regional, five-phase road map for reopening that the governor laid out Tuesday was replete with metrics that set a high bar for advancing each step of the way — and made it clear life will be different for some time.
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The final phase of Pritzker’s plan, when conventions, festivals and sporting events resume, won’t kick in until there’s a vaccine, treatment or widespread immunity to COVID-19.
Until then, “the option of returning to normalcy doesn’t exist,” Pritzker said at his daily briefing Tuesday.
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“That means we have to figure out how to live with COVID-19 until it can be vanquished. And to do so in a way that best supports our residents’ health and our health care systems, and saves the most lives," he said.
[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
The plan divides the state into four regions: northeast Illinois, north central Illinois, central Illinois and southern Illinois, each of which could enter different phases of reopening at different times under the plan.
The state is currently in the second phase of the plan, labeled “flattening,” which relaxed some restrictions that had been in place since March. The earliest a region can move from the second phase to a third “recovery" phase is May 29, Pritzker said.
Each move forward to another phase comes with a caveat — a backslide in data will result in a return to the previous phase’s restrictions.
“Moving backward is honestly the last thing that anyone wants to do,” Pritzker said. “But if the virus begins to attack more people or the health care systems are heading toward becoming overwhelmed in any region, swift action will need to be taken.”
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during his daily coronavirus press briefing, May 3, 2020 in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Pritzker laid out the long road to recovery as state officials reported the highest number of COVID-19 fatalities in a 24-hour period, announcing 176 deaths on Tuesday. The statewide death toll now stands at 2,838. Officials also announced 2,122 new known cases, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 65,962 since the pandemic began.
In order to move into the third phase of Pritzker’s plan, labeled “recovery,” the share of people testing positive for the coronavirus would have to be at or under 20% and increase no more than 10 percentage points over a 14-day period. There would have to be no overall increase in hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illness for 28 days — and surge capacity of at least 14% of ICU beds, ventilators and surgical beds would have to be available.
May 1 is the first day for the 14- and 28-day measurement periods to begin, and the assessment period begins anew when each phase begins, Pritzker said.
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Data on available medical and surgical beds, by region, was not immediately available Tuesday. But as of Sunday night, the state’s northeast region had 18.6% of its ICU beds available and 64% of its ventilators available. The northeast region includes Cook, Lake, DuPage, Will, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, Grundy and Kankakee counties.
The third phase allows a much wider range of businesses and activities to reopen, under certain restrictions, and gatherings of 10 or fewer people for any reason could resume.
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
Manufacturing, offices, retailers, and barbershops and salons could reopen, with capacity limits and other restrictions. Face coverings would still be required. Fitness and health clubs would also be able to offer one-on-one training and outdoor classes, while limited child care and summer programs could operate. Teleworking will continue to be “strongly encouraged" during that phase, Pritzker said.
Schools would continue to conduct remote learning, retailers would have to follow capacity limits set by health officials, and face coverings would still be required in public.
One of the biggest obstacles to moving from this phase to the next likely will be the requirement for widespread tracing and monitoring of those who’ve come into contact with a COVID-19 patient.
Pritzker’s plan uses the same bench marks on the rate of positive tests, hospital admissions and hospital capacity for Phases 2, 3 and 4. What changes with each phase are the requirements for coronavirus testing and contact tracing of new cases.
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On testing, to move from the current Phase 2 to Phase 3, a region must have testing available for all patients, health care workers, first responders, people with underlying conditions, and residents and employees in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. To move to Phase 4, a region must have virus testing available to anyone regardless of symptoms or risk factors.
[ Coronavirus testing sites in Illinois: Search our map for one near you ]
As for contact tracing, moving from Phase 2 to Phase 3 will require the region to have a program in place that can begin tracing and monitoring some cases within 24 hours. To move to Phase 4, a region must begin contact tracing within 24 hours of diagnosis for more than 90% of cases.
The state has been able to increase the availability of virus tests in recent weeks, but an expansion of contact tracing efforts is just getting underway.
In the fourth phase — “revitalization” — “nonessential” businesses would reopen more fully, though still adhering to new safety precautions. As in the previous phases, employers would be encouraged to provide accommodations for workers who are especially vulnerable to the virus.
Social life would begin to look a little more like normal, with dine-in service permitted once again at restaurant and bars, and cinemas and theaters allowed to reopen, all with new capacity limits. Gatherings of up to 50 people would be allowed to resume.
Child care centers and schools would reopen under guidance from state public health officials. Face coverings would still be required, as would social distancing measures. Reaching this phase would require a continued decline in the rate of new infections and hospitalizations.
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[ How fast are Midwest states reopening economies amid the coronavirus pandemic? Here’s a breakdown ]
The requirements would be the same for a wider range of businesses to open under Phase 4 of the plan. But moving to that stage also would require widespread testing to be available, regardless of symptoms or risk factors.
The state has been able to increase the availability of virus tests in recent weeks, but an expansion of contact tracing efforts is just getting underway.
The state has said it would need 3,800 contact tracers, but the public health departments that would undertake that work have for the most part not even started to increase staffing in that area. Pritzker has said announcements about those recruiting efforts would be coming soon.
The fifth and final phase — “Illinois restored” — would be a full reopening of the state’s economy. Festivals, conventions and other large events will be on hold until that phase. Only when the final phase is reached would all businesses, schools and recreational activities resume, though unspecified new safety guidelines would remain.
The state advanced from the first phase of the plan, called “rapid infection,” into the second phase last week when a modified stay-at-home order took effect Friday. The current “flattening” phase allowed nonessential retail businesses to reopen for curbside pickup and delivery and for additional outdoor activities like golf and boating to resume under social distancing guidelines.
The metrics that the state Department of Public Health will be using to track each of the four regions, which mirror state Department of Public Health emergency medical regions, will be available online so the public can see them, Pritzker said.
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Pritzker’s stay-at-home order extension has faced legal challenges, growing anger from conservatives and rural parts of the state, and several protest rallies. A number of Downstate elected officials have pushed Pritzker to release regional reopening plans that take into account differences in infection rates between the Chicago area and Downstate.
House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs and Senate GOP leader Bill Brady of Bloomington have both urged Pritzker to allow portions of the state’s economy to reopen on a regional basis.
Brady said that "while it is important to have a plan that gives us hope, we need to look at it in greater detail.”
In particular, Brady questioned the requirement that hospitals show no overall increase in admissions for COVID-19-like illness for 28 days before a region can move from one phase to the next, rather than the 14-day windows recommended in federal guidelines.
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A spokesperson for Durkin said he was still reviewing the plan and had no immediate comment.
Senate President Don Harmon praised Pritzker for offering a “forward-looking” plan to reopen the economy.
“It offers hope during economic dark days while reminding everyone of how dangerous and deadly this virus remains,” the Oak Park Democrat said in a statement.
A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
In a statement, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office commended Pritzker for “articulating an approach to reopening Illinois premised on data and science driven decision-making that continues to prioritize the health and safety of our residents.”
The city will soon be releasing its own “Chicago-specific plan that complements the state plan,” the statement said.
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“With the health of our residents at its center, the Chicago plan will take into consideration the unique circumstances and considerations for Chicago,” the statement said.
The state reopening plan largely relies on residents to police themselves, but Pritzker said local law enforcement agencies across the state will be asked to monitor for violations and “consider taking actions when necessary.” Pritzker also left open the possibility that the plan may be subject to future modifications.
“I’m not afraid to redesign the playbook if the rules change,” he said.
Chicago Tribune reporters Gregory Pratt, Hal Dardick, Rick Pearson and Joe Mahr contributed.
jmunks@chicagotribune.com
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
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lschencker@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-06--‘We weren’t sure we were going to get him through’: Addison man stricken by COVID-19 discharged afte

‘We weren’t sure we were going to get him through’: Addison man stricken by COVID-19 discharged after 44 days in the hospital

“ When I was ( going on rounds ) , I would be there with the staff and we would @ @ @ @ @ say , ‘ How ’ s he doing today ?
’ ” she said .
@ @ @ @ @ a day when he was able to take his intubation tube out , and we @ @ @ @ @ wife and kids so they could speak , and everyone was crying .
It was @ @ @ @ @ our staff .
”

It started in mid-March with a cough Jonathan Davila couldn’t shake. The 30-year-old from Addison thought he was suffering bronchitis, but eight days later, when he began to have trouble breathing, he checked into Elmhurst Hospital and was diagnosed with COVID-19.
He wouldn’t leave for another 44 days.
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That’s about four times longer than the median stay for people hospitalized for the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is among the longest stays Elmhurst Hospital has recorded among its more than 200 COVID-19 patients.
Such a lengthy and perilous stay — Davila was on a ventilator for about three weeks — for a young and otherwise healthy patient illustrates the capricious and mysterious nature of the disease, said Dr. Phillip Cozzi, a pulmonary disease physician who treated Davila.
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“Those who suffer the most severe disease are those that have (other health problems) and are older,” he said at a news conference Tuesday marking Davila’s discharge from the hospital. “It is unusual to have somebody so young so profoundly ill, but it happens, because this variant is promiscuous and it can afflict young, healthy people.”
Davila works in machine maintenance and has three children, including a 6-month-old boy. His wife and kids were waiting outside the hospital, faces covered, as Davila was wheeled out into the gray afternoon on a stretcher, his own nose and mouth shielded with a Chicago Cubs mask, as doctors and nurses cheered and clapped.
Jonathan Davila is greeted by his wife, Ashley King, holding their 6-month-old son, Elijah, after being discharged from Elmhurst Hospital on May 5, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
“We love you, Dad!” his 5-year-old son Mason said, hopping with joy.
Speaking in a muffled voice, his body draped in blankets, Davila described how his rapidly eroding health landed him in the hospital. He had no idea how he might have contracted the virus, he said, and remembered few specifics about his treatment (patients are sedated when they are on ventilators, Cozzi said).
“I was just pushing to get better,” he said.
Cozzi said patients are generally given “supportive care” until their bodies fight off the disease. That can include ventilation, which Cozzi described as “a small length of garden hose down the gullet, into (a patient’s) trachea to provide ventilation and oxygen,” as well as antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and other therapies.
He said the average COVID-19 patient is roughly two decades older than Davila and has underlying health problems.
“What’s really extraordinary about this particular scenario is that he was so young, so healthy otherwise, and so profoundly ill, to a degree where we weren’t sure we were going to get him through,” he said. “And it was through a comprehensive team pushing the limits … that helped him get over the top.”
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Pamela Dunley, president and CEO of Elmhurst Hospital, said restoring Davila to health became a common cause.
“When I was (going on rounds), I would be there with the staff and we would look in the window and say, ‘How’s he doing today?’” she said. “And then we had a day when he was able to take his intubation tube out, and we were able to FaceTime his wife and kids so they could speak, and everyone was crying. It was so emotional for all of our staff.”
Medical workers who helped treat Jonathan Davila view a gathering with Davila and his family after being discharged from Elmhurst Hospital on May 5, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Davila’s wife, Ashley King, said it was even tougher for his family.
“It was really hard,” she said. “There was a time when I thought he wasn’t going to come home. I was starting to think of how I was going to tell my kids that they weren’t going to have their dad. But it was right at that point I got the call that he was doing better.
“It’s very emotional, very up and down. I’m still worried.”
An ambulance took Davila straight from Elmhurst Hospital to Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, where he will undergo therapy to recover his strength for an undetermined period of time. After that, King said, the family will enjoy some bonding time at home.
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As for the hospital, which has seen 37 COVID-19 patients die and nearly 200 discharged, Cozzi said Davlia’s release is an inspiration.
“I really demonstrates to us that the long, hard effort is worthwhile,” he said. “It can get you down if you continually are fighting a battle that you are not winning. To know that a prolonged support is sometime necessary really inspires you and keeps you going.”
jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman