Don’t be complacent, infection-control expert urges J’cans
Published:Saturday | April 25, 2020 | 12:06 AMJanet Silvera/Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
A Jamaican is at the helm of virus-infection efforts at 13 clinics in Seattle, Washington, where the first COVID-19 case was recorded in the United States.
Registered nurse Norma Avonie Amos, a certified infection specialist, is among health administrators at the forefront of the battle with the runaway infection, which has, so far, claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people in that country.
Looking at the steps being taken to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus in her homeland, Amos is commending the Ministry of Health and Wellness for its efforts, but expressed grave concern about what appears to be the wanton disregard of social-distancing messages by some Jamaicans.
“Jamaica has been doing a fabulous job. It is like what we say, ‘wi likkle but wi tallawah’. But I really think they need to get tighter on this thing, to prevent the spread. I don’t think we have the necessary infrastructure, so we have to get more serious,” she said.
She acknowledged that, while the measures might be difficult to enforce, Jamaica cannot afford to slip up.
“Jamaica was quick; we have been aggressive, but now we have to step it up before people become complacent,” she urged.
Amos, who is director of infection control at the Kaiser Permanente organisation, told The Gleaner that, while her typical workday starts at 6 a.m., even after her tour of duty is complete, she has to avail herself to co-workers whenever needed.
The Charlemont High School past student said that the control efforts for COVID-19 have severely restricted the time medical professionals have to focus on other infection-control activities, with all manpower and resources being channelled towards combating the pandemic.
“We are not even able to think of ourselves. We just want to make sure the staff are prepared and the patients are protected. So we go all over our facilities to make sure everything is in place. So it’s very different and very demanding,” Amos explained.
“You are concerned about the safety of staff, so it is stressful. On some levels, you are scared, but you don’t have time to be scared for yourself because you are representing an organisation that you want to be proud of. You want to be seen as caring about the staff and the public, so we are present, ever ready to ensure we are practising up to standards and policies,” the Linstead, St Catherine native added.
In the clinical setting, Amos has direct oversight for working with staff and managers to prevent infection and cross-contamination between each other and patients, by ensuring personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, gowns and other gear are put on and taken off correctly and are used to carry out the procedures for which they were designed.
Amos, who has three university degrees spanning nursing, healthcare administration and nursing administration, said the virus has forced health workers to become more creative in finding solutions to deal with the unprecedented decrease in the availability of PPEs. As a consequence, she said, much effort has been placed on reducing usage and on conservation.
“COVID is like a moving target. It changes constantly. You have to keep up with the changes. You have to be constantly researching, checking CDC (Centers for Disease Control) to see what’s current; checking the World Health Organization website to see what changes they have made or what they have implemented,” she said.
“So you have to be constantly changing your notification to staff, and you have to figure out how to get the information to them,” she emphasised.