A University of Hawaiʻi alumnus and emergency room doctor is getting global attention for moving into his kids’ backyard treehouse to self-isolate from his family as he treats patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jason Barnes is the director of emergency services for the Christus Spohn South hospitals in Corpus Christi and Beeville, Texas. He earned his MD from UH Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine in 2011. He also earned his bachelor’s degree in nursing from UH Hilo and his paramedics certification from Kapiʻolani Community College.
Barnes’ treehouse quarantine has gotten widespread attention from news outlets and social media, including YouTube and Time Magazine.
In an email to the school, his mother Julian DeLara, who is a former Hawaiʻi resident, said, “Out of concern regarding keeping his family safe while serving the community he loves, he and his beautiful wife, Jenna, have devised a way for him to stay close to his family while achieving the security of social distancing.”
In his capacity at the hospitals in Corpus Christi and Beeville, Barnes is a fixture in the emergency rooms. This has placed him in direct contact with COVID-19 cases.
Barnes checks numbers across the nation each day, including Hawaiʻi.
“My wife jokingly suggested the backyard treehouse,” he said. The treehouse was built for his two sons, Bently, 9, and Kyle, 6. With the addition of an air conditioner, a commode, a bunk bed and a hammock, Barnes was set.
“I know some other guys who sleep in their garage, or have a room at home with a private entrance,” Barnes said. “There isn’t a doctor around who hasn’t asked themselves if they should stay away from the family because of COVID-19. The treehouse is cartoonish and quirky, but the situation is not. I’d rather be in bed inside, and hug the kids, and kiss my wife goodnight.”
