Anyone paying attention to news of the coronavirus in the last year knows about the tremendous toll the virus has taken not only on the people fighting the vicious disease and their loved ones but also the people taking care of COVID-19 patients.

Ashly Jarrett, a registered nurse who lives in Wylie, didn’t have to think long about whether she would work with patients with the coronavirus if she had been assigned to do so.

“I became a nurse, so my job is to take care of any pa­tients, so I will do and serve wherever I’m needed to,” she said.

Jarrett works at Methodist Richardson Medical Center, where she has worked for 2 1/2 years. She has been a nurse for 11 years. At the hos­pital, Jarrett manages the third floor medical unit and super­vises the wound care team.

She explained what the last year has been like.

“It has been a little bit of roller coaster,” she said. “It’s had its moments of stress. With the start of the pandem­ic, nobody really knew what to expect, and so it’s been a lot of learning and growing. The community has been great in supporting us and helping us through it, so that’s been won­derful. Now, it’s starting to set­tle in little bit more about what to expect. With the vaccine and our knowledge, it’s be­coming a little less stressful.”

Jarrett said her floor does not include COVID-19 pa­tients, as the floor takes all the medical patients who can’t go to the COVID-19 wing.

“So that in itself has been a little more stressful because with a lot of COVID-19 pa­tients needing beds, it makes it stressful for the nurses on our floor to manage the medi­cal patients,” she said.

For the full story, see the Mar. 10 issue or subscribe online.

By Don Munsch • [email protected]