116: Kelley Crozier
Medical Director
Medical director of Reading Rehabilitation Hospital at Wyomissing center, Dr. Kelley Crozier, was caught amid many struggles of the covid pandemic. Initially, the rehab did not have any covid positive patients; however, there was an outbreak when an asymptomatic covid positive visitor brought the virus into the building. Once there was need for a covid wing in the rehab anyway, they began to admit covid positive patients from the main hospital as the numbers mounted. Initially, covid patients were kept in a separate ward which expanded into an entire wing of the hospital. It was very stressful for everyone involved.
In the rehab, many changes were necessary: outpatient programs were curtailed and providers faced the fear of going to work and contracting covid. Dr. Crozier and her staff saw several patients die of covid even when those patients were receiving the best care possible. Providers and associates contracted covid; four of them were physicians. The volume of people sequestered for positive covid tests left them chronically short-staffed. This sustained intensity took a toll on all of the team.
Dr. Crozier described many patients who experienced long-lasting effects of covid. Some had myopathy associated with covid, often for 6 months or more, which rendered them paralyzed. One patient never regained use of his limbs. Brain fog, cognitive issues, intense fatigue, uncommon strokes, and neurological issues were common in her patients. She and her team learned to live with the fear of becoming infected and bringing the virus home to family members. She can't even estimate how many people she knew who had covid. She watched many strong people fight their hardest against the illness, some of them dying, and some still struggling with long-term disabilities related directly to covid.
At the onset of the pandemic, the hospital struggled with the national shortage of PPE, and one of Dr. Crozier’s partners went to the Chinese community that provided some much-needed PPE to the staff. She and two other colleagues personally purchased what they could find for staff. Reusing single-use masks for weeks on end created a constant fear for their personal safety which drastically added to their stress levels.
Through the course of the pandemic, she and her team tried to bolster one another’s spirits. She believes it will take essential workers years to process the trauma from this experience. In addition, all of the hospital leadership and physicians have had to undergo pay cuts for the second year in a row because of the financial difficulties of the hospital, much of which were a direct result of the covid pandemic.
Something that has helped Dr. Crozier a great deal is volunteering at vaccine clinics in Reading. She has been focusing on reaching people who have a hard time getting to clinics and has experienced incredible gratitude from recipients.
Dr. Crozier and other front-line workers have shown incredible strength and fortitude over the last year and a half. Her wish for the future is that we all get vaccinated and we all use reliable sources of information to make informed decisions.
