Voices from the Front Lines

An inside view of the COVID-19 fight

In September 2021, we joined hospital staff for a few days to document the reality of treating COVID-19 patients across the hospital system. These are the first three chapters in our ongoing series, “UK HealthCare: Voices from the Front Lines,” highlighting stories and perspectives from our front line workers who have been caring for our sickest COVID-19 patients since March 2020.

Produced by:
Allison Perry, UK Public Relations & Strategic Communications
Larry Treadway, UK HealthCare Brand Strategy & Marketing

Chapter 1

“Every Day with COVID is a Bad Day” Inside UK Chandler Emergency Department

Read the full Chapter 1 story on UKNOW

Chapter 2

"This Time Around is So Different” - Inside the Medicine Intensive Care Unit

Read the full Chapter 2 story on UKNOW

Chapter 3

“The heartbreak … and the awfulness of all this is hard” - Inside the Cardiovascular ICU

Read the full Chapter 3 story on UKNOW

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - 'It's ... something I would never wish on anyone." - Inside Kentucky Children's Hospital (NICU, PICU, Labor & Delivery)

Read the full Chapter 4 story on UKNOW

Featured Stories

Hear voices from the frontlines tell their stories in the feature story blogs below.

Fulton

Jay Fulton has been a chaplain at UK HealthCare for eleven years, but COVID-19 has provided new challenges in supporting families.

Pyper

Meg Pyper has significant ER experience, "but COVID is something entirely different." 

Alexandra Malone is a nurse practitioner for the Critical Care Team.

Alexandra Malone is a nurse practitioner for the Critical Care Team, and has felt a different stress between COVID surges.

Angela Henning

Angela Henning works with transplant and ECMO patients. "One of the things I really want to get out, period, is that vaccination does help."

Kevin Hatton

Kevin Hatton, M.D. emphasizes the severity of COVID for patients, stressing the importance of taking precautions.

Aaron Harris

Aaron Harris has been an ECMO specialist for more than eight years. "I would encourage people to get vaccinated, because it may help you, it may help people that you don't even know."

Kendall Pfister

Kendall Pfister, RN knows the MICU is ready to continue the fight against COVID.

Croucher

While the past 18 months have been hard work, Kim Croucher, RRT's team is doing what they can to help patients.

Samantha

Samantha Gauthier, PharmD, is here to help people with every resource available, "and when it fails it is so disheartening."

Carissa Smith

Carissa Smith, RN, BSN, CCRN, says that "seeing people that [she's] cared for finally be taken off of ECMO feels like a big triumph."

Kindel

Chelsea Kindel, a Kentucky Children's Hospital respiratory therapist, stays motivated to take care of patients and families. "These little kids, they need us."

colleen

Colleen Honey, RN, has worked in labor and delivery for about eight years. "We really try to help each other out when the days are difficult."

Yousaf

Hassan Yousaf, MD has been practicing medicine for six years, but COVID-19 has presented unique challenges. "I’ll be honest, I never anticipated this."

Kindel

Chelsea Kindel, a Kentucky Children's Hospital respiratory therapist, stays motivated to take care of patients and families. "These little kids, they need us."

Kristina

Kristina Oliver, RRT, is a respiratory therapist who works in several clinical areas. "All of us have grown together."

Megan

Corie Roberts, RN and Megan Perkins, RN have seen the differences between COVID-19 waves working in the MICU.

Bastin

Melissa Thompson-Bastin, PharmD, PhD, is a clinical pharmacist in the MICU. "The vaccine is the only drug that works for COVID; it's the only drug that works."

Anderson

Betsy Anderson, RN, a staff nurse in the Medicine ICU who has been with UK HealthCare for more than 20 years. "I am just physically and emotionally and spiritually just drained."

Mandy

Mandy Brasher, MD, is a neonatal and perinatal fellow in the NICU. "I would recommend very strongly to get vaccinated and help protect your family in that way."

Barber

Alicia Chenail-Friend, PA-C and Gina Barber, APRN work in the UKHC NICU. "Just being pregnant increases your risk so much that you can't think that [COVID-19]'s not going to affect you."

Anderson

Jenna Shanks, RN, has been a nurse in the KCH acute care department for more than three years. "I try to give it my all."

Voices from the Community