MINNEAPOLIS — Lindsey Kuehl says she became a nurse to help people.
“I’m super proud to be a nurse,” Lindsey says. “I do not consider myself a hero. It’s just my job and we’re just trying to do our job the best we can.”
Lindsey is currently the nurse unit lead for a COVID cohort unit at M Health Fairview. Her unit takes in patients who are suspected of having COVID-19 and tests them to determine where they go from there.
She says she was working on the day when they had to begin enforcing a no visitor policy – forcing patients to be separated from their loved ones.
“We had a husband with a wife that had been there for weeks and weeks and didn’t want to leave his wife’s side,” Lindsey says. “For me to go in there and be the enforcer and say, ‘You need to leave, we’re shutting down the hospital to all visitors right now,’ was really hard. Especially when you enter nursing as a profession to provide that compassionate care.”
Lindsey says she’s doing everything she can to help keep her patients connected to their family members during their time in the hospital.
“We have to be really kind to one another and be kind to ourselves right now,” she says. “This is a big deal and I just want everyone to be so kind and understanding towards one another.”