Infection prevention nurse never gave up during pandemic

SIKESTON, Mo. — Eric Slaughter can remember the first days of the pandemic like yesterday.

It was before he had to get to work at 8 a.m. every morning and stay until midnight seven days a week, when he didn't have layers of protective gear that prevented him from connecting with patients.

Eric, 43, became Missouri Delta Medical Center's infection prevention nurse a year before the pandemic swept the nation. He took the job because he said he was ready for a new challenge. He didn't know how challenging it would become.

There's a saying nurses have, Eric said. "You don't learn until you've been thrown into the fire."

"And, oh boy, have I learned a lot," Eric said.

As an infection prevention nurse, Eric is responsible for safety and emergency preparedness at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He relays COVID-19 information and CDC-recommended guidelines to leaders in Scott County and members of his staff, so people know what safety measures they need to take.

Coronavirus first hit Eric's radar in December of 2019. At that time, the CDC described the virus as "a pneumonia-like viral illness" that developed in China. He brought it up at a monthly infection control meeting he held in December. It worried him.

Just a month later, COVID-19 cases started trickling into the U.S.

Eric quickly started working with other hospitals in the region. When the pandemic was at its worst in Southeast Missouri — October through December — they began to worry they'd run out of beds for patients.

"There were times we were down in the single digits for available ICU beds, which is almost unheard of," Eric said.

In November, there were 2,457 virus cases in Scott County and 5,231 total cases in Cape Girardeau County.

"Our COVID-19 Task Force always rose to the occasion, no matter how full we got," Eric said. "We were always able to handle the surge that came at us. That was a huge source of pride for me."

Eric has rarely gotten a day off since the pandemic began. He goes to work every day to report new COVID-19 cases to the CDC. He monitors all patients at Missouri Delta for infections. He updates an online tracking board local hospitals use to share their bed availabilities.

When he's not at work, he and his wife, Shana, juggle their two daughters' — Reese, 15, and Ryan, 7 — education.

Shanah said she sometimes spent three to four hours a night after work helping her youngest child with online school.

"If we didn't have each other and God, I don't think we would've gotten through it as easy," Shanah said.

There were times Eric said he wondered whether he could go on like this. It wasn't easy to cope when taking time off wasn't an option. He said he couldn't have done it alone.

Eric's coworkers have worked an exorbitant amount of hours as well. One coworker, Jennifer Presson, Missouri Delta's case management and quality reporting nurse, said Eric was always a beam of light at the hospital.

"Eric's got a tremendous work ethic," Jennifer said. "He will run himself ragged trying to make sure everything is accurate and done to the best of his ability and never complain."

In his time at Missouri Delta, Eric has been named employee of the month twice and employee of the year in 2020.

Eric is known around the hospital for his sense of humor, Presson said. Instead of Murphy's Law, Eric calls it "Eric's Law."

"If something's gonna happen, it's gonna happen to him," Presson said.

Eric sought counsel from his pastor at Compassion Church in Sikeston to keep himself in a good place. Shanna always encouraged Eric and supported him, he said.

"I'm his number one fan for sure," Shanah said. "I'm super proud of him. He's always excelled at everything he's ever done."

Thankfully, Eric said, things are beginning to take a better turn. The region is much less overwhelmed by coronavirus. Last week, Scott County averaged one confirmed case of COVID-19 a day according to data on the Show Me Strong Recovery Plan's dashboard.

No matter how hard the past year was, Eric never wavered.

"At the end of the day, I'm here to help the patients, and I'm here to help everyone in the community," Eric said. "You've got to stay focused on the good that you're doing and not let the stress bring you down."