Workers In Gig Economy Fear Financial Help May Come Too Late.
BLACKWELL: The CDC is recommending the voluntary use of face coverings now when in public. The health officials, they do not want you to go out and get medical or surgical mask. Instead, they want you to make one at home potentially. Surgeon General Jerome Adams shared this video showing how one can be made from something maybe you have around the house like a scarf or a hand towel or a T-shirt or part of a shirt. The surgeon general says that the face coverings should be worn in public places like supermarkets, where social distancing can be difficult to follow, but it is not a substitute for social distancing.</s>PAUL: And there you go. So the new measures to stop the spread of the virus come amid really an incredible strain being reported at hospitals across the country. I want to talk about New York City here, because the need is so great there right now. Phones across the city got this emergency push alert yesterday seeking licensed health care workers. Well our next guest is a nurse who's answered that call for help in New York. She usually works at Emory University Hospital here in Atlanta. Well, she recently was one of the more than two dozen health workers seen in this now viral photo from Southwest Airlines, flying to New York to help with a response. Nurse Letha Love is with us now. Letha, thank you so much for everything you and your comrades are doing there. We appreciate it so much, and we hope that you know that we understand to some degree, as much as we can, the personal sacrifice you're making. I understand you left your two kids with your aunt to do this. What was it about this that made you say I have to go?</s>LETHA LOVE, ATLANTA ICU NURSE WHO FLEW TO NY TO HELP PATIENTS: First off, good morning. What made me want to come is I want to be able to help people up here. The amount of people up here is just outstanding. So any help that I knew that I can give was warranted. Not wanting to be my job and being exposed at my job, and bringing it home to my kids is one of the main reason that I decided to take this assignment.</s>PAUL: Right, so helping other people there and then protecting your kids at the same time. I understand that when you walked into the hospital for the first time there in New York, you were shocked. Why is that?</s>LOVE: I really was. I wasn't expecting it to be the amount of people that it was, and the severity of it.</s>PAUL: So what - would help us understand what you saw?</s>LOVE: I just - it's just so many people that are sick from this virus. People intubated. All different ages. This increase is a lot. You wouldn't expect it. I guess because I wasn't working in this environment at the time. I was working in a clinic. And just to walk in and see these amount of people sick from the virus--</s>PAUL: I would think one of the most difficult parts of this is the fact that once they get this, they can't have any contact with their families. I've heard stories about some of nurses - some of the nurses and doctors who will hold up a phone and help them FaceTime with their family. Have you seen anything like that?</s>LOVE: Well, most of the patients that I've worked with has been intubated. So is not an option to even speak with them. We're just taking care of them the best way we can, so to let people know that their family members are being taken care of. We wouldn't come here if we weren't going to take care of them. We came here to help and take care of them. Yes, I mean, if we could do that we would. But the patients that I've been taking care of they're intubated.</s>PAUL: I know you've said as well, and I want to quote you here. You said, "You've never been in a place with that much death." I want to show a picture of the enthusiasm initially of you and all of your colleagues on the plane there Southwest. This was this was put out on social media as you were heading to New York. Seeing what you have seen now since you've been there, I think for about a week, what is the emotional and psychological process for you and all of these health care workers? When you see what you see to try to process that and keep going?</s>LOVE: Christi it is a lot. I have ran into so many nurses crying. I ran into so many nurses just so emotional about this. I don't think none of us can leave this without having to get some psychological help. When I say standing in death, it is like, hearing colds night. On a regular ICU unit you do get a cold here and there. But to have the whole hospital calling colds all night, it is emotionally draining. I - for me, I have to step away for a minute just to collect myself sometimes, because it is overwhelming.</s>PAUL: How long do you think that you can do this?</s>LOVE: And I don't know. I'm just going day by day with it. I had intentions on trying to stay up here three to six weeks. But being up here, I don't know if I can last that long. I do whatever it takes for me to protect myself, so that I can go back to my kids healthy and strong. But this is a lot. It's a lot. And people need to take it serious. And when I say you need to take it serious, you need to take it seriously. If you don't know until you get a family member in this condition or have this virus and you can't see them. So when they say stay at home it's very important to stay at home.</s>PAUL: Now we've been saying that, because some people do wonder why they would have to stay at home and or why they would have to wear masks and he's saying - when you realize it's not about you, it's about it's about them. It's about you making sure that the other people around, you if you feel well, that that they do not come into contact with you, because you could be asymptomatic certainly. Before I let you go. I want to give you a chance to say something to your family. I mean, I would think your kids certainly miss you so much. Your aunt misses you What would you like to tell them right now?</s>LOVE: First, I want to tell my aunt, thank you. Thank you very much for taking care of my kids while I'm not able to do it right now. I love my kids so much. My son is my hero right now, because he's accepting this and he's taking it very well. He's 12 he calls me. I call him up as much as we can. He's making sure I have my mask on. He asks me why I don't have gloves on. You know you don't just walk around with dirty gloves on. But I do explain that to him. My daughter is four. She's not quite understanding it, but she misses me and she lets me know every time we speak. I miss y'all so much. But just know that mommy came here to help and I'm doing the best I can. And I do want to say if there are any nurses out there that has any time to give, please give come up here and help out, it is just it's overwhelming. It's not enough nurses. It's not enough nurses up here. It's not enough health care workers up here. If you have a week, it helps. If you have five days, anything helps. So I just want to say that and I want to also say stay at home. Stay at home. It's very important to stay at home. I love you Randy, and that's it. Thank you, Christi</s>PAUL: Letha Love you are doing some of the most important work that can ever be done right now. Thank you so much for stepping up to the call. And please, please keep up with us. We wish you the very, very best. We'll be keeping you in our prayers.</s>LOVE: Thank you very much and it's needed.</s>PAUL: You and all, thank you, thank you, thank you. We'll be right back.