“I am their voice.”

An infection preventionist discusses the measures she designed to help her hospital stop COVID spread.

I hold an infection preventionist role during pandemic management

I want to share the stories of infection preventionists who work behind the scenes 12-16 hours per day, often seven days per week, in hospital settings. We do not get any recognition for our hard work. We are the ones who manage the COVID-19 pandemic in hospital settings.

My happiest moment was during this pandemic when I was able to successfully set up COVID 19 care units in Emergency Room Triage, the Intensive Care Unit, the Medical-Surgical Unit, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Labor and Delivery., and the Operating Room. 

I designed every single step that our hospital now uses during care for our patients, the cleaning of the wheels of rolling gurneys to using UV light to kill virus particles in patient rooms. I am proud that my healthcare team has been safe during COVID patient care. None of them got sick, and none of them died. 

I am their voice. I made the impossible possible for my healthcare team. Nurses and doctors hugged me and they said thank you for my care. Yet many patients don’t know that my job exists.

I ❤️ healthcare and saving lives.

Dr. Roxane Bocskay, epidemiologist/infection preventionist RN, Los Angeles, California