Out of rooms; running out of body bags: ER nurse describes Sinai Grace COVID-19 patient surge

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Sinai Grace Hospital has been swamped with COVID-19 patients, having to treat some in the hallways.

“A war zone” that's how ER nurse Jeff Eichenlaub describes Sinai Grace Hospital.

Sinai Grace ER nurse describes COVID-19 patient surge looking like ‘war zone’

“We were at a point where we were running out of body bags in our department,” Nurse Jeff Eichenlaub said.

“You walk in and there are patients everywhere, sick patients everywhere,” he said. “Helpless is a good word, sad is correct.”

Two weeks of surging patients.

“There is no space to put these patients because we are out of rooms,” he said.

Many, especially the elderly, are dying and fast.

“We were at a point where we were running out of body bags in our department,” Eichenlaub said.

Nurses are caring for three times as many patients as they typically would.

“A lot of these people are dying alone,” he said.

When they're gone, there are more COVID-19 patients behind them.

“Frail, elderly people lonely by themselves just trying to breathe,” he said.

Sources told FOX 2. Sinai Grace was already short on nurses before the pandemic.

“I think the toughest part of the job is that we don't have enough people to take care of our patients,” he said.

ER nurse Jeff Eichenlaub

The conditions have caused the night shift nurses to push back. They were asked to leave for the night on Sunday. This forced Eichenlaub, who supports their stance, into a 25-hour shift.

“It’s very mentally taxing, it's very sad, I love the people I care for,” he said.

The hospital released a statement, with some context - it says the hospital has more EMS traffic than any in metro Detroit, the patient population often has serious, underlying medical conditions, and they service many nursing homes in the area.

Better news, some changes are now happening - including, bringing in more resources and most importantly, nurses. But the sadness, is unwavering.

“I think the saddest part is they come in talking to us,” he said. “And then before you know it we have to put them on a vent before you know, before the end of the shift, we are doing life-saving measures to watch them pass.”

Nurses become stand-ins, for families unable to be with their loved ones - holding hands of the dying.

“A lot of times when we are with a patient that is passing just to let them know everything is ok and that they are going to be ok."

He has been at Sinai Grace for six years, relieved to now have more resources, to continue this uphill battle.

“I love working where I work,” he said. “I love the people I work, I know who is going to be there, I know the faces I'm going to see, and that’s what makes every day count.”

DMC continues to say the safety of staff and patients are the top priority.

FOX 2 spoke with about 15 nurses at Sinai Grace and many were reluctant to talk for fear of retaliation. We spoke to a floating nurse from Sinai Grace she spoke out on social media and was fired after threatening to blow the whistle to state authorities. She believes that is why she was fired.

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