Masood Safaee Semiromi, MD
History can teach us a lot about finding perspective. If you could take a time machine back to 1918, you’d discover many similarities to our current pandemic. At that time, the world was encountering the Spanish flu, which spread globally as soldiers returned home from World War I — quickly creating a public health crisis.
People wore masks during the 1918 pandemic and campaigns encouraged masking — and there were hefty fines and even prison for not wearing masks. Social distancing and avoiding crowds was the norm, with schools and other public gathering places closed. Locally, caregivers were dealing with shortages of nurses and beds as the virus spread to virtually every community in Utah.
Doesn’t this sound eerily similar to what we’re experiencing today? I hope the similarities between today and 100 years ago will bring you some encouragement and comfort — including that a century ago our caregivers advocated for equity among all patients just as we do today.
In a book about McKay-Dee Hospital’s history published in 1955 by Earnest P. Mills, MD, I found evidence of this as I recently flipped to a page that reads, “Impossible, but it was done,” regarding the 1918 pandemic response.
The book mentions that McKay-Dee Hospital — then the Thomas D. Dee Memorial Hospital — was under a lot of pressure to accept patients at the height of the pandemic.
The Thomas D. Dee Memorial Hospital
One physician approached the superintendent nurse about an influx of patients and said, “We have 60 patients from Mexico, all with influenza, who are coming in from the train and need care.”
When the physician was initially told they didn’t have a single bed, he insisted all the patient receive care. His attitude was caring and equity for everyone, regardless of race, nationality, or anything else. These are the traditions Intermountain has kept all these years and we’ll continue to uphold no matter where we are in history.
The caregivers at Thomas D. Dee Memorial Hospital did whatever they could to meet the demand. This meant thinking on their feet, while being careful with resources. They cleaned up a shop that was attached to the hospital and wired old beds together, taking in all 60 patients.
Staffing shortages were also common. For example, one of the nurses was in her first year of nursing with just six months of training, and she was in charge of 15 patients for 12 hours per night. Overtime was common. One caregiver died, a nurse, and many other caregivers contracted the disease but survived.
I hope this helps you see that the issues we face today are remarkably similar to those we’ve faced before. Just like with every other crisis, this pandemic will be over eventually. But your personal sacrifices and good deeds during the pandemic won’t be forgotten. And I can promise you the memory of how we handled it and treated those around us will be with us forever.
In 2020, we’re fortunate to have technology and instant communication to respond to this health crisis. In 1919, they only had supportive care measures and they were dealing with a pandemic that struck the young and healthy especially hard.
The entire community worked together to overcome the 1918 pandemic, just as we’re doing in 2020. It wasn’t just the hospital caregivers, it was everyone. I think this is something we can take from that time as we move forward today. If we want to overcome any crisis, we must all work as a united team. A hundred years from now, your hard work and lives saved will not be forgotten.