Orlando doctors, nurses discuss life on COVID-19 front lines

ORLANDO, Fla. - Doctors and nurses are some of the heroes battling the coronavirus crisis. Armed with masks, gloves, and determination, AdventHealth doctors and nurses are fighting the coronavirus in central Florida.

“Since early March, we have care for over 600 COVID-positive patients in our central Florida hospitals and outpatient facilities,” said Dr. Neil Finkler, AdventHealth’s Chief Medical Officer of Acute Care Services.

ICO physician, Dr. Bob Cambridge said it could be like a warzone. “This is probably the closest Stateside thing I've felt to deployment,” he said.

Cambridge said dealing with the coronavirus was different than anything else he'd faced. “You're doing what you know to do, but doing it in such an unusual social circumstance,” he said, “it's not... kind of an alien thing, but it just feels off.”

Nurse Cristin Ray said they worked each day with worries in the corners of their minds. “The biggest fear is just the unknown and I think that all of us have it, a little bit,” she said.

Nurse Tyler Mora said they worked hard to keep patients families in touch, even though they couldn’t visit. “Even the patients that are in the ICU's,” she said, “the virtual teams go into the rooms and are able to connect them with family so it is an amazing piece that the virtual teams are able to connect the patients with the families, as well.”

They said family was what got them by. “It's good at the end of the day to be able to go home to my family and see that they're still safe and have that support at home,” said Dr. Rebecca Gomez, an AdventHealth Hospitalist.

AdventHealth has setup a scientific review committee to summarize all the newest, best research on the virus and send it out to the medical community.