We have an acting crisis here

Video Transcript:

The worst place in the country for coronavirus this morning is South Dakota. It's experiencing record cases, deaths, and hospital levels. The positivity rate there is the highest in the nation at almost 60 percent. The state has taken a hands-off approach to public health protocols recommended by the CDC. Back in July, President Trump posted an Independence Day celebration as you can see on your screen. This was in a packed amphitheater at Mount Rushmore. Month later, nearly a half million bikers flooded into the town of Sturgis for an annual motorcycle rally. South Dakota's Republican governor, Kristi Nome, supported both events and refused to issue public safety directives such as wearing masks. Here's what she said a couple of weeks ago at Trump Rally. The only reason you know who I am today is because the liberals have been busy kicking me in the head for all the decisions I've made for my people in South Dakota. But let me tell you, my people are happy. They're happy because they're free. We invite a governor Nome to join us this morning with Sheetek Lond. But here to describe what she's seeing on the front lines in South Dakota is Jody Doring. She's registered nurse who has called the coronavirus crisis in her state, quote, a horror movie that never ends. Thank you so much for being here. When I read some of your tweets, my jaw dropped. You said that even now that the hospital is being overrun with COVID patients, they come in. They're horribly ill. They're gasping for breath. And yet they don't believe they have COVID. Yeah, I think the hardest thing to watch is that people are still looking for something else. And they want a magic answer. And they don't want to believe that COVID is real. And the reason I tweeted what I did is it wasn't one particular patient. It's just a culmination of so many people. And their last dying words are this can't be happening. It's not real. And when they should be spending time, face timing, their families, they're filled with anger and hatred. And it just made me really sad the other night. And I just can't believe that those are going to be their last thoughts and words. And anger and hatred towards you? You know, I think it's just a belief that it's not real and nursing happens to be on the receiving end of that. And that's okay. We can take that. That's what you're there for. It's just in the bigger picture when you try to reason with people of can I call your family, your kids, your wife, your friend, your brother. And they say no because I'm going to be fine. And you're watching their oxygen levels. You know, maxed out on what we call a vapor therm at 100% and their oxygen level might be 75. That's not really that compatible with life. And we know where that's going to head. And it just makes you sad and mad and frustrated. And then you know that you're just going to come back and do it all over again. And so yeah, that's kind of where that stem from. How could it not make your own head explode? Or gasping for breath? Their oxygen levels are dropping. What do they think is wrong with them? You know, I think people look for anything. People want it to be influenza. They want it to be pneumonia. They want it to be I mean, we've even had people say, well, I think maybe it might be lung cancer. I mean, something so far fetched. And the reality is since day one when COVID started in this area in March, you've kind of been able to say it, it walks like a duck and talks like it's a duck. Like I hate to tell you that you have COVID, but that's what you have. You know, even after positive results come back, some people just don't believe it. Now that's not everybody. We have a lot of patients who are very, very grateful for their care and very thankful for what you do. But unfortunately, that's not what I'm remembering right now. And as my nursing career, that's not what I want to be remembered. Be remembering poor. I want to remember the saves and the happy situations. And what I was remembering, chilling on the couch the other night with my dog was not that. Of course not. I mean, of course not. And it's just so mind blowing to think that they would rather have lung cancer than rather a day. You know, of cancer than of coronavirus. And so I mean, you've said that it just, I mean, if I quote you for morning television, is an effing horror movie that you live every day. And so what toll is this taking on you? Yeah. Hindsight. I didn't realize that this was going to go viral. I probably could have left the S bomb out of there, but the reality is that's how you feel. And so it is like it's just a movie where the credits never roll. You just do it all over again. And it's hard and sad because every hospital, every nurse, every doctor in the state is seeing the same things. These people get sick in the same way. You treat them in the same way. They die in the same way. And then you do it over again. And we're so thankful for the lessons we've learned along the way. And we're doing a good job of taking care of the people that come in. And we're managing our patient loads here right now. Sometimes it's day to day. Sometimes it's hour to hour. But the reality is that right now it's not getting better. You said just as you started the show, you know, 50 to 60% positivity rate. I mean, our entire state has 880,000 people. It doesn't take much to do the mass on that for how many of us are sick. Oh my gosh. When you hear your governor, Kristi Noem, say, my people are happy. They're happy because they're free. What's your response? You know, I think it's frustrating as a health care provider because the last thing that we ask anyone when they seek care is how they voted or if they're a Democrat or a Republican. The last thing we ever think about is that. What we think about is how can I help you? And so anybody that uses any chance to make this political makes any health care provider want to scream because at the end of the day, we just want to help. And if we don't get some help from the public as far as mask wearing and social distancing, you know, there's a thing on the internet right now that says, I'm not your first line of defense. I'm your last. And that actually is true in South Dakota that by the time you get to me and the team that we work with, it might be too late for some. And that is heartbreaking because the reality is we're a small state. The town I live in has 650 people and we have 680 deaths right now. I mean, that's my entire town wiped off the map. We know these people. We go to school with them, church, grocery stores, every small town store you've ever heard. But just so I understand, nurse, you have more deaths than you have people in your town. Yeah, in the state of South Dakota, I haven't looked in the last few hours. I think we had 683. Don't quote me on that. But the town I live in has 650 people. So when you put in perspective and people listen to me talk about this for the last nine months, that's every single person in our town gone. That's pretty mind blowing. If we had a tornado that came through and killed 20 people, we would stop and look and the national news would be there. And so the fact that we have this many deaths in a town or in a state this size is mind blowing to me and it's not currently getting better. Nurse Jody Doreng, thank you very much for sounding the alarm. Thank you for all that you do for your patients even when they scream at you. And we just really appreciate you and that you go back in every day and do that all over again. You bet. Thanks a lot. I appreciate, you know, my five minutes at Twitter fame can bring a little bit of positivity to this state. I'm going to take it and run with it. So thank you.