Coronavirus heroes: Married doctors traded Centre County practices for Geisinger COVID unit

Working in Geisinger Lewistown Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic is not easy. It’s long hours, layers of PPE and the worry of possibly contracting the virus.

For husband and wife Shane and Laura Newhouser, working in the dedicated COVID-19 unit at the hospital for two months meant a shift away from their normal routine as physicians in Centre County, with meticulous precautions aimed at keeping their family safe.

“We were really careful to make sure that we wore separate clothes. We wore scrubs at the hospital, we would change into scrubs once we got there, and then the hospital was great in that they made rooms that were available to shower in the morning before we came home,” Laura Newhouser said over a recent video call. “We kept shoes separate from what we wore in the hospital, we didn’t bring that into the house. We wiped down badges and cellphones. We made sure that we weren’t transmitting anything back and forth.”

The Newhousers are osteopathic doctors who specialize in family medicine — Laura at Geisinger Gray’s Woods and Shane at Geisinger Scenery Park and Geisinger Gray’s Woods. Both went to Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and did their residency at Latrobe Area Hospital.

When they moved to the COVID-19 unit in Lewistown, they opted to work alternate night shifts in hopes of getting to spend time with their 3-, 4- and 7-year-old children during the day.

“Part of the challenge was getting the kids to accept that one of us was going to be gone each night, that’s just not what they were used to,” Shane Newhouser said.

Once at work, the doctors would put on an N95 mask, plastic hood, gown, gloves, hair net and booties to cover shoes. Their work on the unit involved admitting patients into the hospital, or caring for those who were already in the unit and battling the coronavirus.

“We had protocols from infectious disease on which medications to start and what was appropriate. At least when we admitted people at night, if they weren’t already intubated, we would make sure they were getting enough oxygen, we’re monitoring their vitals, we’re managing some of their other medical problems too, on top of the COVID,” Laura Newhouser said.

For both doctors, the toughest part of caring for the patients was the lack of “human touch.”

“You’re talking through a mask and also an eye guard ... you’re barely touching them, and you’re spending far less time with them, so you lose that human connection when they need it the most,” Shane Newhouser said. “Without the chance to have visitors in, without their families, this is when they need their doctor to show care for them.”

He lamented that simple things — sitting on the edge of the bed, offering a hand to hold for comfort — were bygones.

“You were still in the room, but you’re trying not to be there too long, you’re trying to do just what you needed to do — you had all the gear on and then get out to minimize exposure. So not being able to have that human touch with the patients was tricky for me,” Laura Newhouser agreed.

As tough as working in the unit was, simple things made it all worth it for them.

“It was really rewarding to see the patients go home. We had two people that were intubated that seemed to be in the ICU forever, but they eventually did get to go home. It’s kind of amazing when you think about what they had been through and for how long,” Laura Newhouser said.

For her husband, his biggest motivator was dedicated co-workers.

“Seeing the commitment from so many people from Geisinger ... you weren’t alone in working, everybody was committed toward this together,” Shane Newhouser said. “People with higher risk than us — part of our choice to do this was that we were young and healthy and we wouldn’t be putting ourselves in too high of a risk, but sometimes there are nurses that have chronic conditions and they’re spending more time with the patients than we do.”

The two are now back at their former routines and practices, though they don’t look quite the same as when they left.

“It’s a totally different practice now,” Shane Newhouser said. “It’s a different world now, and part of this I think is going to stay. Televideo and telemedicine is here to stay to some degree, no matter how long the pandemic continues.”