The very front line of Michigan Medicine’s fight against COVID-19.
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Six days after the first two COVID-19 cases in the state were confirmed, Michigan Medicine opened the Regional Infectious Containment Unit (RICU) in C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. The 32-room negative-pressure isolation unit was designed for optimal care of adult COVID-19 patients and optimal safety for health care workers. Thanks to his unique position as both a physician assistant and professional photographer, Steven Upton, PA, was able to gain access to this special unit. His photos offer a glimpse into this historical moment at Michigan Medicine, from the otherworldly strangeness of extensive personal protective equipment (PPE) to the practical simplicity of poignant sticky notes conveying messages from loved ones.
Saying Goodbye
On the day photographer Steven Upton, PA, visited the RICU, physicians and nurses were preparing to take a patient off life support. Before the terminal weaning, they would contact the patient's loved ones to offer them a chance to say goodbye. The following photos show Preet Shokar, RN, and Andrew Rosenberg, M.D., working through this process.