Dr. Mubashir Badar is a specialist in hospital care at Sanford Medical Center – Bismarck who is providing simple solutions to address some of the challenges of taking care of patients with coronavirus.
That effort begins with a floor plan.
In order to generally decrease COVID-19 exposure to patients and staff, those who are suspected of having the virus and those who are confirmed to have it are located on a single medical floor that includes negative pressure isolation. Negative pressure isolation is a technique that prevents airborne contaminants from drifting to other areas.
In order to ration the use of personal protective equipment, he designates a single hospitalist provider per week to care for the patients on this floor.
Dr. Badar selflessly volunteered to be the first provider in the rotation to take care of patients with COVID-19. In so doing he is leading by example. It comes at a time that would make a huge impact on the care for the Bismarck community.
So what brought him to this decision — why is this a sacrifice worth making? Dr. Badar responded by praising his profession.
‘What we signed up for’
“If you ask most physicians you’ll get the same answer,” he said. “That answer is ‘This is what we signed up for!’ If you go back to our medical school days or even before that, we’d ask ourselves why we wanted to become doctors. It’s to take care and provide care for the patient in the time of their greatest need. There is no better feeling than doing exactly that.”
A significant part of that commitment goes beyond purely clinical boundaries. Staff have had to accept additional risks while stationed on the front lines. Understandably, they are concerned for their families.
“The one thing I’ve said in the last few days is this: ‘It’s OK — we’ve got this,’” Dr. Badar said. “At Sanford we’re going to come together like a family, have each other’s back and do what is needed to take care of our community. We’re not in this alone. We have the support of hundreds of other doctors, nurses, administration and the government.”
Humbling experience
Patients derive comfort from being well-informed. Dr. Badar has found that his conversations with those affected by COVID-19 tend to be more intense.
“We spend time easing fears and anxiety,” Dr. Badar said. “It’s about educating the patients on the virus and reassuring them, telling them things are going to be OK and their families are going to be safe. We’ll get them through this.”
For personal inspiration, he looks no further than to those working side-by-side with him, as well as those in the next town, the next state, and the next country. People from different backgrounds, different cultures and different walks of life have come together with solidarity to fight a common enemy.
“I’m closer to my colleagues now than I’ve ever been,” he said. “Think of all the nurses, physicians, ER doctors — think of every person sacrificing time with family and fearlessly coming out to helping their patients. In some cases, they’re distancing themselves from family when they go home — just so they can care for the community. I’m humbled by that.”
Learn more
- From the front lines: Health care hero Molly DeSpiegler, RN
- Doctors’ Day takes on new meaning during pandemic
- Doctor working after hours: ‘This is our battle’
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Posted In COVID-19, Physicians and APPs, Sanford Stories
