So others may breathe – Navy Medicine Respiratory Therapist cares for COVID casualties
So others may breath…Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Tessa Hazard, a respiratory therapist specialist, recently returned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Bremerton after deploying on behalf of Joint Task Force Civil Support for approximately eight weeks to Ozark, Alabama. As a member of Navy Medicine’s Medical Response Team Ozark, Hazard and other active duty nurses, providers and hospital corpsmen were integrated into Dale Medical Center as part of the Department of Defense COVID response operations in conjunction with U.S. Northern Command and Federal Emergency Management Agency to help overwhelmed hospital staff deal with an influx of COVID-19 patients. With COVID-19 being a respiratory disease, those afflicted can have their lungs fill with fluid. Inflammation can set in. Patients have low oxygen levels and trouble breathing. Hazard was in high demand. She was charged with helping patients’ breath and deal with any airway problems and provided 180 hours of direct clinical care for 96 patients on a 25-bed COVID unit, seven-bed intensive care unit and 12-bed emergency department (Official Navy photo by Douglas H Stutz, NHB/NMRTC Bremerton public affairs officer).
