This is the hard work of health professionals in the ICUs of Medellín

While the ICU beds in Medellín are close to 90 percent occupancy, the movement of medical personnel does not stop when the city sleeps.

At the Medellín Clinic in the West, the 27 ICU beds are all occupied.

“The feeling of panic that many times one feels when going to see a room and see everyone lying down, face down, with a tube, gives chills, panics,” confesses Juan José Vélez, specialist in intensive care.

The consolation of the patients is in the hands of the medical personnel, who often do not recognize them for their suits, but even so his actions become a source of hope.

“In the art of caring there is also that of caress, that of touch, that of touching a patient and making him feel: I am with you”, highlights María Arias, chief nurse of the Clinín Medellín de Occidente.

A little further south of Medellín, at the Las Vegas Clinic, the panorama is no different, its ICU is also at its maximum capacity. During the night, the work rhythm grows along with the contagions of COVID-19.

“We have spent a few months preparing for this moment of experiencing the situation in other countries: having completely full units,” regrets Claudia Salazar Luna, administrative head of the emergency service.

They try to shield with layers of special material to avoid contagion of coronavirus on your battlefield.

“We continue to make changes in position so that we have patients prone, the only thing that changes is that we do not have visits during the night,” says Margarita González, nurse specialist in critical care.

The green threads with the intermittent sound of the machines are the music of hope that accompanies medical personnel throughout the night.

“The most difficult thing at the moment is watching a patient die and the way we have to handle the patient,” confesses María Arias, chief nurse.

Moments of emotional stress are the constant of these heroes When their night shifts end, they are in charge of caring for the beds occupied in the 21 hospitals with an ICU in Medellín.

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