Answering the Call: COVID-19 Response

When we say, “We will get through this together,” we don’t just mean within our campus. We mean everyone.

Five ventilators in the USI respiratory therapy lab were sent to Ascension St. Vincent Evansville and Deaconess Hospital to assist the broader community with the COVID-19 pandemic response. The hospitals cleaned and calibrated the machines for possible use if a spike in cases results in a shortage of ventilators. 

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is in short supply for healthcare workers across the nation due to the staggering numbers of patients infected with the virus. In response, the University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing and Health Professions, Southwest Indiana Area Health Education Center and Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education came together to provide more than 1,500 masks and 400 isolation gowns to Deaconess and Ascension St. Vincent as well as USI Housing and Residence Life.

Essential Worker Point of View
In addition to teaching full time at USI, Heather Schmuck '02 M'13, Clinical Associate Professor of Radiologic and Imaging Sciences, works as a registered radiologic technologist as part of Deaconess Midtown's supplemental staff. She and her colleagues rotate through all areas of the hospital, including the emergency room.

Because radiologic technologists perform imaging to help doctors with a diagnosis, they are sometimes exposed to communicable diseases prior to a confirmed diagnosis, whether from lab test results and/or images being interpreted by the radiologist (Note: This is why staff are provided with personal protective equipment – or PPE – to help protect against infection). “We are oftentimes one of the first people to actually 'see' what is wrong with the patient, long before any formal report comes back to render a diagnosis,” she said.

Schmuck said that when she signed up for shifts at the start of the semester, she had no idea she would be working in this role during a pandemic. “I was fearful of the unknown going into work for my shifts last month,” she said. “I am thankful for each of my co-workers as well as the staff from other areas of the hospital who are doing their best to help those in need during this time. Everyone across departments seemed to come together as a team, even more than we normally do.”

On the flip side, Schmuck said she didn't like not being able to kiss her kids goodnight for 14 days after her shifts, but in the end, said, “I’m proud to do my part and will do it again if I’m needed.”

Photo Caption: Heather Schmuck '02 M'13 (back row, center), poses with co-workers Kate Riordan ’06, Lindsey Chung’09, Ryan Williams ’14 (seated) and Caleb Ford ’20.