'Live with Kelly and Ryan' get emotional interviewing ICU nurse manager about coronavirus

NEW YORK -- An ICU nurse manager at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn took some time to speak on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" about the challenges she faces during the coronavirus pandemic.

"A typical day starts around 6 a.m. and then I work 12-13 hours and if I can skip out earlier, I do, and we're constantly making plans and figuring out where to put patients and where to put staff and how to make it all work together, and then something happens and we make a new plan," said Elizabeth Douglas, ICU nurse manager from Parlin, New Jersey.

She said that her day is full of challenging situations.

"Most of my day feels like it's spent problem-solving and moving things around and getting what we need. It's a constant kind of jigsaw puzzle," Douglas said.

Kelly asked Douglas if she had a fear of getting infected with the coronavirus.

"It's more a fear if I'm going to take something home to my family, or if I'm going to touch something wrong and end up infecting a coworker or a patient that doesn't have COVID because there's still non-COVID patients in the hospital," Douglas said. "There's more of a fear of hurting someone else than hurting myself with the coronavirus."

But, when talking about the sudden influx of patients, Douglas got emotional.

"There are too many patients, trying to find enough bed and staff to take care of them, and we make it work, we get it done, and we have doubled the amount of ICU beds, we are doing it," Douglas said. "There are times when we can only stretch so far."

Kelly and Ryan asked what her two children have asked her about the coronavirus and Douglas said that they have mostly shown concern over the patients.

"There are people who get better," Douglas said. "We are going to get through this."