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 Mary Latino, PA(ASCP)CM
AAPA member since 1982
“You could say I am near the epicenter. I live in Hudson Valley of New York and work in western Connecticut, in Danbury right at the New York border. On April 7th, 23 people died in the county where I live.
We have a large COVID-19 testing center outside Danbury Hospital. We test about 200 people per day, most of whom are positive. I know this because one of my new duties is calling positive results to clinicians and then filling out the paperwork to send to the state. I now have the time for this as my grossing is now only about one to two hours a day. I also work with residents. The CP residents are ‘working and learning’ from home. The AP residents do not want to be in the hospital as they think of themselves as ‘non-essential’. We have received varying guidance on how to handle them going home. The first was if there were enough PAs, they could be sent home. Since I am the only PA here, our resident director decided they must stay and do autopsies. The PGY1s are still learning to gross, so this gives me more time to teach them. We are getting more autopsies than normal, and we are being assured they are not COVID patients. The residents are not taking any chances, though, and they are using the appropriate PPE. We have two autopsy assistants, so I am rarely involved in autopsies (and I am happy about that).
Like Beth, we are getting cancer cases and placentas, and some of our outside doctors’ offices that are not part of the hospital are still open. The urology group usually has their own pathologist, but now they are sending their 12-14 part biopsies to us which are three to five sets a day. But most of my time now is spent tracking down doctors to tell them COVID results and filling out paperwork. My hospital network has told us they will not furlough or lay off anyone. They are re-purposing anyone they can. I will do whatever they need me to do. Before all this happened, we had so much work that we could barely keep up. Now it’s the exact opposite.
I hope all my PA friends stay healthy and employed during these challenging times!“
We want to hear from you! During this time of isolation, now more than ever we need to see and hear from our PA community! How is COVID-19 affecting your work? What tips and tricks have you found useful? How are you using this time to promote pathologists’ assistants and prepare for PA Day? Send us a summary describing your “new normal”, along with one or two high-resolution photos, and your story may be featured next (read previous features here). Or, if you have any COVID-19 resources to add to our list, please pass them along. Remember, we are all in this together, and the AAPA will be here to support you throughout this crisis and beyond.
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