By Jeremy JoJola, 9News
After traveling thousands of miles, through major international cities and foreign countries, the novel coronavirus is putting people in intensive care units in rural Colorado.
A microscopic image of the COVID-19 virus. Image courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Laboratories of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“Just small rural America,” Jeff Davis, a nurse, said over a Zoom meeting while describing the city of Montrose “If you go to the grocery store, and you’re out and about, you’re gonna bump into people.”
Davis, 54, will usually begin a 12 hour shift in the intensive care unit at 7 pm and walk out of the building when the sun is rising over the community of 19,500 people.
While his shift is busy, Davis said Montrose Memorial has the right equipment for nurses and doctors to handle the current patient load. There are 11 beds in the ICU, some of which have been full of COVID-19 patients living at the edge of death on ventilators.
Montrose Memorial serves as a hospital, not only for the City of Montrose, but for surrounding smaller cities and towns in other counties.
And unlike other mountain communities, Montrose didn’t experience a sudden influx of COVID-19 patients, Davis said.
“We didn’t get hammered, all at once. We had a slow entry into this, and it let us formulate our system and how we are managing our care for these people,” Davis said.
There have been 69 confirmed cases and 7 deaths in Montrose County, according to the state’s latest COVID-19 stats* (*need to update*)
“I think the biggest thing that most people don’t realize is how quickly people fail,” Davis said of his patients. “Even after 33 years, I mean I got comfortable with my skill set, and these people make you think.”
When asked about his working environment compared to larger metropolitan hospitals, Davis said his patients are often people he sees at the local grocery store.
“In a small town, word of mouth is everything. So how you make your impression and start a relationship with people is everything,” Davis said. “You’re gonna see them out in public again.”
“I really think, when this is all said and done, I’m gonna be a better nurse for it. It’s taken me out of my comfort zone from what we normally see,” Davis said.
This story is a part of COVID Diaries, powered by the Colorado News Collaborative, or COLab. Ark Valley Voice joined this historic collaboration with more than 20 other newsrooms across Colorado to better serve the public.
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