‘It’s something we’ve never seen before’: In-home care providers are on the COVID-19 front lines

By TIM GOODWIN

Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services nurse Kristina McGuirk visits patients who have returned from the hospital after battling COVID-19. Staff photo by Ben Conant

Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services nurse Kristina McGuirk visits patients who have returned from the hospital after battling COVID-19. Staff photo by Ben Conant

When patients infected with coronavirus first made an appearance on Kristina McGuirk’s case load, it was hard not to be concerned.

As a nurse with Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, McGuirk’s job is to go into people’s homes to provide care for those dealing with a variety of conditions and medical concerns. But the addition of COVID-19 brought on that question of “what if?”

“You have to assume everyone has it and that’s really the best way,” McGuirk said. “I obviously don’t know what I was expecting. It’s something we’ve never seen before.”

She’s worried about being infected herself or bringing it home to her fiance. For those on her weekly caseload who had contracted coronavirus, her visits have so far come after the patient returned home from hospitalization.

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