Meet the mother of five who is now caring for critically ill COVID patients

St. Tammany Health System nurse Kimberly Booth RN is a mother of five who, at the age of 42, decided to enroll in nursing school. For the past several weeks, she’s been providing care to COVID-19 patients in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit and Critical Care Unit. (Photo by Tim San Fillippo)

By Mike Scott, mscott@stph.org

To celebrate local healthcare workers during the current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the St. Tammany Farmer has launched a new series spotlighting healthcare heroes from hospitals throughout the parish. This week: St. Tammany Health System’s own Kimberly Booth, a registered nurse caring for critically ill coronavirus patients. Read her story below, online at NOLA.com and in The St. Tammany Farmer’s print edition on Wednesday (April 22).

Who: Kimberly Booth, a registered nurse who, after working as a stay-at-home mom for 16 years, began nursing school at 42 years old. For the past six and half years, she has been working at St. Tammany Health System, where she is a charge nurse in neuroscience and has been working as part of the hospital’s critical-care COVID-19 team.

What made you decide to go into nursing?

I love to take care of people, whether it be physically or emotionally, so being a nurse was the perfect choice for me. Also, I have 5 children between the ages of 15 to 26, so working only three days a week in a hospital was a huge deciding factor.

What does your typical day look like?

I am usually running around, helping my co-workers and assisting the patients. As charge nurse, I respond to all “rapids” and “code blues” in the hospital. We have such an amazing team between CCU, ICU and neuroscience.

How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected the way you do your job day to day?

My job has changed dramatically because of COVID-19. I took the second suspected COVID-19 patient (at STHS) to help alleviate the fears of my co-workers. … I am now part of the critical care COVID-19 team that takes care of patients for a straight seven days on, then seven days off. We do this to expose less staff to the virus.

What’s the most challenging part of your workday now, in the age of coronavirus?

Speaking to the families of the patients and knowing that they cannot be at their loved one’s bedside as they pass. It is heart-wrenching to hear them telling their sister or mother goodbye through the phone or iPad. All the staff have cried with their patients’ families during this process. It breaks my heart.

What helps you keep going? What’s your motivation each day?

Every morning we have prayer at 7:15. All staff in ICU and CCU gather in the hallway and a prayer is led by our hospital chaplains Mike (Binnings) and Zac (Ritchie). This starts our morning off right because unfortunately, some days are truly tough. Also, the community support is incredible. The police, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters cheering us as we came in or left work recently was inspiring and touched all of us. The incredible support the community has shown us – I can’t even express how grateful I am without tearing up. The donations of meals is truly our bright spot every single day.

Is there anything you’d like people to know about you, your co-workers or St. Tammany Health System?

No question about it, I love my co-workers. We have such an incredible team and we lift each other up or offer emotional support during this trying time. I could not get through this pandemic without the support of my co-workers, managers and of course the outstanding pulmonologists we have at St. Tammany. To quote Coach Orgeron: “One team, one heartbeat.”

*****

Visit STPH.org/COVID-19  for the latest information on coronavirus in St. Tammany Parish.