Physician Assistant Alum Delivers YouTube Tutorial In Wake of Mask Shortages
Shadoe Daniels, 2019 Marywood University graduate from the Physician Assistant Program, is currently serving on the frontlines of COVID19 relief at the Elmhurst Hospital, Queens, N.Y. Prior to his relief deployment with Krucial Staffing, he was working in the emergency department (ER) at the Wayne Memorial Hospital, Honesdale, Pa., and for Commonwealth Health.
Mr. Daniels is serving as the lead physician assistant for Krucial Staffing in the main COVID19 unit at Elmhurst Hospital. He has been working 12-hour days for 14 days straight and explains that he has seen some very seriously ill people. Upon his arrival at Elmhurst, Daniels determined that the first obstacle that needed to be addressed was the shortage of staffing. Without the proper staffing, Mr. Daniels and fellow healthcare workers wouldn’t be able to adequately treat patients. After addressing the staffing shortage, the next obstacle that presented itself was one that required ingenuity, resourcefulness, and the ability to make do with materials on hand.
When word was received that non-rebreather masks would become unavailable overnight at Elmhurst Hospital, Daniels and others on his team knew they needed to improvise and quickly fashion a device that would deliver the life-saving oxygen needed by many of the patients that healthcare workers were seeing.
The quickly fashioned, life-saving non-rebreather masks were made with other medical materials and worked remarkably well on all of the patients that required non-rebreather equipment. Quickly, other hospital departments were asking how the mask was made so they too could use them on their patients. On the advice of a resident, Daniels made a YouTube video Non-rebreather with step-by-step instructions on how to recreate the life-saving device.
Mr. Daniels explains, “Without this very essential equipment, patients will quickly deteriorate and need more invasive measures to be taken. If we can keep the patients full saturated with oxygen, then we won’t need to resort to those more extreme measures.”
While the shortage of non-rebreather equipment was temporary, as Elmhurst Hospital was able to get a supply of the devices, many of the healthcare workers still preferred the ones made by Daniels and his team, as patients were reporting that they were receiving the supply of oxygen better with them.
Mr. Daniels continues his work at Elmhurst Hospital working around the clock to lead his team and to deliver the best patient care possible. He credits his resourcefulness to the critical thinking skills obtained during his training as a physician assistant at Marywood University; his 14 years serving as a paid EMS (Emergency Medical Services) worker; and his 16 years serving as volunteer firefighter at Texas #4, Honesdale, Pa.
Mr. Daniels said, “I feel like I’ve seen it all. I’ve had exposure through all of my training and had a good base and solid foundation. With each training, I was adding to my toolbelt of knowledge, so I knew I could effect positive change at Elmhurst, as I was ready to immediately begin working to alter situations for positive outcomes.”
Mr. Daniels is unsure how long he will be in New York City, and admits that he recently “hit a wall.” He said, “After working 14 straight days and seeing so many ill patients—actually seeing fear on the patients’ faces—I’m hoping that I’m easing that fear for them, by giving them the best care possible.”
Mr. Daniels offers this advice to all who read this article, “This is real. This is not the flu. Listen to social distancing, wear a mask, and stay home.” Uncomfortable with being labeled a hero, Mr. Daniels said, “The true heroes are the doctors, physician assistants, and nurses that have been on the frontlines from the beginning—they’ve been through the worst of it.”
Mr. Daniels graduated from Honesdale High School and earned his physician assistant degree from Marywood University in 2019. He is a pre-hospital physician assistant, one of only three in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Emily, have three children, and live in Honesdale, Pa.
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