MILWAUKEE — Five years ago, the state of Wisconsin shut down due to the pandemic.
Five years have passed since the start of the pandemic and health care professionals are reflecting on the work done during unprecedented times.
Dr. Patricia Golden is the chief medical officer with Ascension Wisconsin. When she thinks about the pandemic, she can’t help but get emotional.
“Reflecting back, they were just unprecedented times,” Dr. Golden said. “Quite honestly, I think all of us were filled with some trepidations. We knew that we needed to do the best thing we possibly could for our communities to keep everyone safe.”
Dr. Golden was responsible for ambulatory care during the pandemic. She helped create Ascension’s mobile test sites across Wisconsin. She also helped set up respiratory clinics and post-COVID clinics for the hospital system.
She said working on the front lines took a toll on her, as well as others in the medical field.
“I don’t think we realized the effects that it was taking on us,” Dr. Golden said. “Emotionally, physically. As things were starting to improve is when we started to see the burnout in multiple areas of health care.”
A study by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing showed 100,000 nurses left the workforce during the pandemic.
The nursing workforce has continued to decline in the years immediately following the pandemic. That same study found the stress of working during the pandemic is a driving factor behind the decline in the U.S. nursing workforce.
Dr. Mary Beth Graham, the medical director of infection prevention and control for Froedtert Hospital, said thinking about the toll the pandemic took is still very raw for a lot of people.
“I think the thing that is in retrospect, it was a really disturbing and difficult time for a lot of different providers,” Dr. Graham said. “I think a lot about our intensivist colleagues because our ICUs were very full. We had a lot of patients on ventilators.”
Medical professionals said working through the pandemic is something they will never forget as they continue to work in the field that has changed so much.
“I’m not sure I will ever forget going through this event,” Dr. Golden said. “But again, I’m so proud to be in the health care profession. There were so many professionals that were critical during this time to help keep our community safe.”