Kristi McCabe — Skilled nursing fears amid COVID-19 pandemic

Thank You to Our Heroes!

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Today we want to honor Kristi McCabe, RN, PowerBack Rehab, Lakewood, Colorado. Here is her story as reported by Jeremy Jojola, Wilson Beese (9NEWS).

Every evening after her shift, nurse Kristi McCabe heads home and gets fully undressed just after she walks in the door.  Her 10-year-old daughter waits inside as McCabe immediately takes a shower with hopes the virus that causes COVID-19 hasn’t made its way inside her home.  “I will admit a few weeks ago, things were more scary. I had a few teary nights,” McCabe said through a Zoom video call from her workplace at PowerBack Rehab in Lakewood. “There's definitely an added layer of stress into things.” 

PowerBack Rehab provides a rapid recovery alternatives for patients requiring post-hospital rehabilitation and medical services related to acute illness, surgery or injury. McCabe has been a nurse for the past 20 years, most of them spent helping elderly populations. She spends her day helping patients in the 108-bed facility, and thankfully so far her workplace hasn’t seen any infections, she said. 

“I really fell in love with the elderly population," she said. "There’s a certain level of respect that comes with that generation that you don’t really see with people of my age." Trying to keep a sense of normal during abnormal times has been challenging as she now has to wear a mask, gown and face shield all day. Before the pandemic, McCabe could move freely throughout the facility without any thought of social distancing among the residents. 

And for patients’ families, it’s been a hard transition, McCabe said, after the state restricted nonessential visitation at skilled nursing facilities.  McCabe said families have been able to talk to their loved ones through things like Zoom and FaceTime at least three times a week.  “We really don’t want to isolate them from the families as much as possible," McCabe said. "We try to make everybody feel this is home and we are all family."

When it comes to her other family at home, it’s a challenge not to worry.  “The highlight of my day is going home everyday to see my daughter at the end of a rough day,” McCabe said. “Right now, these are some of the hardest days I’ve had, and I feel I can’t go home, I can’t hold my daughter without possibly putting her at risk.” 

Thank you Kristi for your commitment, dedication, and compassion for your patients and communities. 

If you have a story and pictures of a front line nurse you would like us to highlight on our website and social media, please email them to us at  info@helphopehonor.org.