The 36 federally funded travel nurses working at Hilo Medical Center have been “a tremendous relief” for the hospital’s staff.
The nurses provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived about three weeks ago and have been helping to treat COVID-19 patients as well as others who come to the emergency department.
Sharonda Cowins, 34, is one of the travel nurses who has been working at HMC. While she has only recently started her nursing career, Cowins has been through a lot.
“I’ve been a nurse for about four years, so the pandemic hit at about the two-year mark, and I just decided it might be a good time to be a travel nurse,” Cowins said. “The contract kind of fell into my lap, and I thought I would try it.”
Cowins was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was working at one of the largest hospitals in the area.
When she started traveling, she chose contracts from hospitals in the Atlanta area, but was eventually told about one in Hilo.
“My recruiters contacted me about a job in Hawaii, and 20 minutes later I decided — why not?” Cowins said. “Hawaii was never on my radar, being so far away, so I wanted to jump on the opportunity. This is the furthest I’ve ever traveled.”
The traveling personnel have been able to help the local staff focus on non-COVID patients and move patients from the ER to inpatient beds more efficiently.
“I think this hospital takes COVID way more seriously than some of the other hospitals I’ve worked at during the pandemic,” Cowins said. “Even though the severity of the illness is not as bad this time around, everyone treats COVID seriously.”
Coming from the large city of Atlanta, Cowins was surprised by how efficient a smaller hospital in a rural area can be while she’s worked at HMC.
“I have learned so much in the past three weeks that I can incorporate into my own practices when I go home,” Cowins said. “Everyone here has been helpful and accommodating. Someone is always asking if I need anything, and I’ve never worked somewhere with so many aides. It’s a beautiful thing.”
The assistance provided by Cowins and the 35 others has helped alleviate some of the burden on the hospital’s staff.
“I can tell you having the travel nursing staff has been a tremendous relief,” said nurse manager Toni Higa. “Every time we talk about FEMA personnel coming, we all get excited. I can’t even explain the applause and sigh of relief from the staff on their first day.”
Since the holiday season, the emergency department often was over capacity because of the omicron surge, with an average of 25 COVID-19 patients a day. That prompted HMC to open 24 more acute-care beds as patients started filling the hallways.
“People were being overworked, and it was stressful for a while,” Higa said. “Having FEMA nurses has been a great mental and physical break to have for our staff.”
Since the FEMA team arrived, wait times have been reduced, and the emergency department is not over capacity.
“We are all feeling less stressed now, but we aren’t putting our guard down,” Higa said.
On her off time, Cowins and some of her counterparts have been taking advantage of the favorable weather to tour the island and explore all it has to offer.
“I just got done with a four-mile hike (last Thursday) and, wow, it was tough,” Cowins said. “I’ll definitely be coming back one day. It feels like a whole new world over here.”
Cowins has about five more weeks on the Big Island before she heads back to Atlanta, where she plans to pick up more local contracts from hospitals that need her help.
“I’m planning on making the most out of my time here,” Cowins said. “I’m going to continue to learn, work and do all I can do before I bring my knowledge and myself back home to Atlanta.”
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com