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Spokane nurse working with coronavirus patients tells his story

Avery Brook has been a nurse at Sacred Heart for two years. Most recently, he's been treating coronavirus patients.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Avery Brook has been a nurse at Sacred Heart for two years. Before the pandemic, he was treating patients recovering from sepsis.

But his duties have changed since then.

“It varies every day, because I work on the ninth floor, and we get a wide variety of patients up there. Most recently we’ve been the COVID unit,” Brook said.

During his 12-hour shifts, he cares for three to four patients at a time.

“We have to be a lot more careful because, unlike a typical flu patient, the coronavirus patients I’ve seen can change dramatically really rapidly,” Brook said.

Checking patients’ vitals and levels of oxygen in their blood has become critical.

“You have to spot that, and you have to jump on that very quickly, or they’ll go downhill very fast,” Brook said. “We’re trying to keep ourselves safe. We’re trying to keep other patients in the hospital safe, and there’s a lot of unknowns about this virus.”

Brook has a wife and three sons at home and said coming home from a work shift means immediately taking off his scrubs.

“I’ll take extra precautions. I’ll put them right in the wash and then take a shower before I touch anybody in the house,” he said.

He said his work as an essential worker has brought him a lot of recognition and that he is grateful for the community’s support.

“I just go to work, and I’m doing my job, because I love what I do, and it’s my calling. But it’s been wonderful, really,” he said.

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