CNA Karla Byrd strives to treat patients the same. ‘We are all human beings.’
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We’re sharing the stories of health care heroes in the Charlotte area who are helping to make a dent in the fight against COVID-19 — while making a difference in the lives of patients and their families.
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Karla Byrd says she strives to treat each of her patients the same regardless of their possible diagnosis – as she has during her 25-year career as a certified nursing assistant.
Byrd cares for patients at Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center as they await test results, including for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
She takes their vital signs and helps with their dressing, bathing, eating and walking.
“It’s scary,” she said of waiting for COVID-19 tests to come back on some of her patients. “I won’t lie. The ‘not knowing’ sometimes is scary.”
She’s had one patient who tested positive for the disease, and it happened on the same day he was supposed to be discharged, Byrd said. Anyone who tests positive is then transferred to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte.
“It became real,” she said of her reaction to the test results. “Of course, I was nervous. Of course, I was afraid. But I had to think, he’s still a human being. I got in my PPE (Personal Protection Equipment). I got in my gown, my goggles, my mask, and then did the tasks I normally do.”
“He was very pleasant, nothing was different about him,” Byrd said. “And I got in and did what I needed to do. He smiled, and we talked, just like I normally do with all of my patients.”
Novant Health officials said Byrd always goes beyond what’s expected, without ever having to be told what to do.
Byrd said she just enjoys taking care of people.
“Everyone is a human being, and I treat everybody the same, regardless if they’re positive or not positive.”
