UNMC nurse’s COVID-19 video goes viral

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - An after-shift video from a UNMC ICU nurse is giving people an eye-opening account of just how serious COVID-19 hospitalizations are getting.

That video from Lacie Gooch had over 230,000 views as of Tuesday night.

“I had just worked my third 12-hour shift in the COVID ICU,” said Gooch. “I think at that point I was utterly exhausted and so in my mind, it was just I need to help get the message out.”

Lacie’s normal assignment has her working in the cardiovascular ICU but she says as COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to rise in Nebraska UNMC continues to allocate more space and nurses to fighting it.

“When the pandemic first started there was a specific team that would just work with COVID,” said Gooch. “But it’s gotten so bad that that team alone can’t take care of it.”

Lacie says those 12-hour shifts start with being handed a bag of N95 masks and other PPE and from there it’s a nonstop day.

“I describe myself as a ping pong ball,” said Gooch. “Just bouncing from room to room the whole day. Not really sitting down. Putting on precautions, taking it off, putting it on, taking it off. Just bouncing back and forth to deliver the care that they need.”

Lacies says many in the healthcare field are also experiencing that COVID fatigue but her message is simple.

“Trust us when we say these are the sickest patients we’ve seen in a long time,” said Gooch. “The breathing tube is a lot more painful than wearing a mask, I promise you.”