After watching how some people wear their masks, I now understand why contraception fails! I mean, it really is not protective when the mask is covering your chin, or your nose is hanging out of it.
And I am sorry, but you do not need medical training (unlike some evil troll wrote on my Facebook page) to wear a mask properly. Just cover your nose and mouth for goodness sakes. Wearing a mask is about protecting yourself and others from this infection.
But what really burns my cookies is not wearing a mask at all.
All the studies show that wearing a mask and social distancing will diminish the spread of the virus. But for some very bizarre reason, some people think it is their God-given American right to not wear a mask and believe you’re a communist or something if you even suggest it. I don’t get it. Do they want to spread this virus FOREVER?
I see the posts — they state that COVID isn’t that big of a deal, it’s a media hoax, or it’s no worse than the flu, or it’s OK to thin the herd or other wacky ideas. And, besides, you’re talking about their business so stay out of it!
But is it really just these non-mask wearing, non-social-distancing people’s business? NO, it is not.
Those of us who work in long-term care know our residents and staff are paying the price for these inane ideas. About 42% of deaths from COVID-19 in the US are from eldercare facilities, yet the population in eldercare facilities is approximately 0.62% of the entire population. And this isn’t because eldercare facilities suck! Simply stated, our population is the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
You’ve read enough well-written articles in McKnight’s, so you know all the uphill battles we’ve been facing from not getting appropriate PPE to asymptomatic spread from staff. (And no, public, we cannot make our employees live in our buildings, so that means that, yes, they will get exposed to you non-mask wearing fools.)
Please, wearing a mask is not a political statement. It is not a Democrat versus a Republican, versus a libertarian thing. Healthcare advocates from all sides of the aisle are begging you to wear your masks.
We are trying to save lives here. Our staff are putting their lives on the line every day. Is wearing a mask really that difficult?
Save a life, wear a mask.
Just keeping it real,
Nurse Jackie
The Real Nurse Jackie is written by Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC, Senior Director of Clinical Innovation and Education for Mission Health Communities, LLC and an APEX Award of Excellence winner for Blog Writing. Vance is a real-life long-term care nurse. A nationally respected nurse educator and past national LTC Nurse Administrator of the Year, she also is an accomplished stand-up comedienne. The opinions supplied here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer or her professional affiliates
