While completing their daily tasks and tending to patients one Friday in June, the staff on the fourth floor of Cathcart paused for a few moments as they passed the maintenance crew taking down “the wall.” The wall had represented a time of fear and hardship amidst the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each day for over a year before that, in an attempt to control the virus, the Cathcart staff had prepared for battle, entering the doorway to the temporary COVID-19 unit on the opposite side of the wall, putting on their armor of masks, face shields, and other forms of personal protective equipment, to help patients fight against COVID-19.
The fight against COVID-19 may not be over yet due to the concerning rise of the Delta variant. But on that day in June, Cathcart staff had a small victory they didn’t think would be possible after more than a year of arduous care for patients with COVID-19.
Constructed in May 2020, the wall was a response to the surge of COVID-19. Typically serving as a floor for heart failure patients, 4 Cathcart had to designate a section to create a space for the rapidly growing coronavirus cases in the city. It served as a physical reminder that COVID-19 patients were occupying rooms in that select section of the floor, restricting routine patient, staff, and visitor flow from the area.
This summer, after the tremendous efforts of the team, it was announced that there were zero COVID-19 patients on 4 Cathcart, and following this announcement, Melissa Cavanaugh, BSN, RN, PCCN, nurse manager of 4 Cathcart, gathered her team and proudly shared that the notorious wall would be taken down, allowing the floor to fully return to its original function.
“I’ve never heard people cheer as loudly on the day I announced that COVID patients could be placed on designated proper units,” Cavanaugh said. “We weren’t known as a COVID floor anymore.”
To celebrate this achievement, unit staff held an event centered on the breakdown of the wall. Holding golden hammers, they pretended to hit the wall, as it would be properly taken down by a maintenance team, to symbolize their fight against the virus on the floor.
“They’re a resilient bunch that took such diligent care of these patients,” Cavanaugh said of the Cathcart team. “I’m very proud of them.”
“This team handled the unit with such grace, dedication, and commitment to our patients,” Betty Craig, DNP, chief nursing officer, said. “The COVID-19 pandemic is one that comes with ups and downs. When we’re able to see some progress, it’s important to celebrate and remember we can achieve victories along the way and regain a sense of normalcy and peace.”