CORONAVIRUS

A Young Doctor Photographs the Coronavirus Crisis

By Duncan Grossman
Updated Jan. 22, 2021
Tap story

Dr. Duncan Grossman, a medical resident in Brooklyn, has a stage-one pressure ulcer on his nose from long hours wearing an N95 mask. He sports a Harry Potter surgical cap made by his mother-in-law.

The emergency-medicine resident was training in another service at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn when Covid-19 hit the hospital. Dr. Grossman was soon reassigned to ICU-X, a cardiothoracic surgical ICU converted to handle Covid patients, as the surge hit.

He brought his camera to work because ‘I wanted to document the progression of a novel disease in a hospital that couldn’t know what to expect,’ Dr. Grossman says. ‘I was inspired by these people who came to work every day to battle a new disease that no one knows how to treat and could kill any of them.’

Dr. Kestrel Reopelle intubating a patient.

‘Smiling faces are a rare sight in the ER,’ Dr. Grossman says, ‘a consequence of surgical masks and the seriousness of of the atmosphere.’

Triage

As the virus spread, protocols changed. Triage later moved to a tent outside the hospital.

A monitor shows a patient’s oxygen saturation at a low 29%

Doctors intubate a patient.

Efforts are made to minimize staff exposure to the virus. Intubations are usually performed by a team of four or more at Maimonides, which is a teaching hospital, but now they are often done by teams of two.

An impromptu meeting as nursing and clinical leaders update the swabbing policy and other protocols.

Testing swabs are collected on a chair in the middle of the emergency department.

Dr. Grossman checking his phone during a brief moment of quiet on an overnight shift in ICU-X.

Judy Lin, an attending physician, in an ER resuscitation bay reserved for critically ill patients--one of three pregnant ER physicians working that day.

Dr. Suman Gupta swabs a patient while an environmental worker changes contaminated curtains from a previous suspected Covid-19 patient.

Equipment was moved outside the patient rooms to limit exposure of medical staff. Ventilator modules were taped to chairs.

A doctor checks her phone through a biohazard bag to avoid contamination.

Staff prepare for an intubation in the ICU.

Dr. Josh Beckhusen, ER pharmacy resident

‘Our pharmacists in the ER are unsung heroes. In addition to checking and correcting countless medication orders, they treat critically ill patients at the bedside, are actively involved in cardiac arrests, and are a wealth of resources and knowledge,’ Dr. Grossman says. ‘I promised I would cook him dinner when this is all over.’

A doctor takes a break from his N95 mask.

‘Wearing a mask all shift is uncomfortable,’ Dr. Grossman says. ‘We ran out of the more ‘comfortable’ N95s (if you can use that word) and switched to one even less comfortable.’

‘At no time were frontline workers without the recommended level of PPE,’ said a Maimonides Medical Center spokeswoman.

A note from Dr. Grossman's wife, Victoria Creedon, who is a critical care nurse practitioner at NYU Langone. ‘She understands,’ he says. ‘But life at home has still changed.’

Cover

Cover Photo taken by: Dr. Daniel Novak; Produced by: Shalini Ramachandran and Allison Pasek