Navy Physician in the Palouse

Photo By Staff Sgt. Yesenia Barajas | U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Saint, assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, Bremerton, Washington, asks a patient about his health at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, Nov. 8, 2021. Saint has helped patients at the hospital by tending to their needs. Sailors assigned to NMRTC deployed from Bremerton, Washington, in support of the continued Department of Defense COVID response operations to help communities in need. U.S. Northern Command, through U.S. Army North, remains committed to providing flexible Department of Defense support to the whole-of-government COVID response.  

SPOKANE, WA, UNITED STATES

11.17.2021

Story by Douglas Stutz    

Naval Hospital Bremerton/Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Bremerton

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Saint has been on the receiving end of a few expressive comments of late.

Feedback from patient, staff and community has been favorable towards Saint since October 16, 2021, to help handle the influx of COVID-19 patients at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington.

“They just keep saying ‘thank you for being here’ and ‘you have been more helpful than you know,” said Saint, a Houston, Texas native and family medicine physician assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton.

Saint, along with approximately 20 other Navy doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists made up of personnel assigned from NMRTCs Bremerton, Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms, comprise Department of Defense (DoD) Medical Response Team (MRT) Bravo. The team has been working in conjunction with U.S. Northern Command and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). They are augmenting an overwhelmed staff in responding to the highly-infectious pandemic which has spiked in the Palouse due to the recent wave of the Delta variant.

Spokane with a population of over 217,000 is the major city in the high desert and rich agricultural land of eastern Washington historically – and affectionately – known as the Palouse.

“I am here to support Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center as they continue to treat COVID patients in Spokane and the surrounding counties,” said Saint.

Long hours have brought increased strain and stress on the staff providing the crucial care needed for the steady increase of hospitalized patients. Sacred Heart has also had to postpone a number of normal appointments until a later date and delay scheduled surgeries due to the increased case load of COVID-19 patients.

With her physician background, Saint is filling the role providing general medical care to hospitalized patients.

“I was tasked to work as a hospitalist and take care of patients who are currently admitted with various conditions,” Saint said, adding that she has enhanced her knowledge base in her current role, which is one she doesn’t normally practice.

“I was thankful to be able to help boost the morale of hospital staff by being a part of the relief team,” said Saint. “It took me about a week to become comfortable in this setting. But it has been cool to see that I can trust my training.”

A typical day for Saint has her starting at 7 a.m. with her managing the necessary care for up to 11 patients over the next 12 hours.

“I pre-round by looking at their chart, notes and vitals, as well as lab work from the night before. Then round on all of my patients and do my exams for the rest of the morning. The afternoon is filled with notes, consults and administration work or discharges,” explained Saint.

Although it was a challenge for Saint to get back into hospital medicine, there has been definitive fulfillment from the opportunity.

“It has been gratifying to connect with the patients on a daily basis and build relationships with them,” noted Saint.

The Navy Medicine providers, nurses and hospital corpsmen are actively involved in helping them gradually return back to the norm. They are doing such as a ready medical force working as a medically ready force, both essential priorities of Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham, Navy surgeon general and chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

“I cannot be more proud of our team and the hospital staff. Being on the floor and seeing how sick many of these patients are and dealing with death on a regular basis – this takes a toll on all of the caregivers and yet they come back every day. They are a very resilient group,” remarked Navy Cmdr. Matthew Behil, MRT Spokane officer in charge.

• Date Taken: 11.17.2021
• Date Posted: 11.17.2021 13:39
• Story ID: 409510
• Location: SPOKANE, WA, US