Healthcare Hero: James Tychnowitz, Respiratory Therapist
Item
Title
Healthcare Hero: James Tychnowitz, Respiratory Therapist
Description
Prior to COVID, I was working as a pulmonary educator, talking to patients about pulmonary diseases and how to manage themselves. I don’t think people knew what a respiratory therapist was before the pandemic. It’s not a role you’d normally see in shows like Grey’s Anatomy, and it’s not something you would really even think about unless you or someone you know needed to be put on a ventilator. But then COVID hit, and everything changed. I became exclusively focused on managing pulmonary medications and taking care of ventilators – life support machines. When this all started, we were navigating uncharted territory, forced to treat an unknown and figure out the best management strategies to keep patients alive. Everything was so chaotic. Whenever a patient comes off a ventilator, we play chimes. But I’d be lying if I said I remember the first time I heard the chimes. Time feels compressed when you are exhausted because of the daily rigorous care you are providing to the most affected patients of the pandemic. The virus is a vulture waiting to latch onto people who are most at risk. However, I am hopeful. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that speaks to the hard work everybody is doing to make that possible.
Subject
Extent
1 file
Language
en
Rights
Type
Format
Identifier
cap-hch-JamesTychnowitz
Date Submitted
2021-06-13
Item sets
Attached media
cap-hch-JamesTychnowitz.jpg
