Northwell Health remembers and spreads the light of our fallen heroes due to the COVID-19 pandemic
This March marked one year since Northwell treated the first case of COVID-19. While it has been a challenging year for all of us, the perseverance of our frontline heroes, the power of science, and the hope of ongoing vaccinations and innovative treatment plans brings us comfort for the path ahead.
The most difficult challenge has been coping with the grief associated with the loss of our colleagues, friends, family members and those in our communities. From March 9 to March 14, Northwell held remembrance activities to “spread the light” for our fallen team members and those who we have lost due to COVID-19. New York City – the epicenter of this pandemic – has also declared Sunday, March 14, as a Day of Remembrance to honor everyone we’ve lost.
To spread the light throughout our remembrance week, team members were encouraged to wear blue in memory of those who worked at Northwell and as a show of solidarity for our Northwell community. On site, our chaplains hosted moments of silence and remembrance circles to help our team members find meaning, hope, connection and comfort through togetherness regardless of religious affiliation. Spread the light activities were also available at our facilities, allowing team members to reflect by writing messages on remembrance boards, prayer cards, and lighting luminary bags to symbolize fallen team members.
Team members and their families also continued to spread the light in our communities over the past week as they organized light parades in their neighborhoods, created luminary bags and took a moment to pause to reflect with their loved ones.
During our remembrance week, Northwell also held an organization-wide Town Hall featuring our President and CEO, Michael Dowling, and other senior leaders, to connect our 75,000 team members and speak about the strength and sacrifice of our healthcare heroes. In addition to honoring those we have lost, it also recognized the efforts and unwavering dedication of our team members throughout the pandemic. From March 12 to March 14, our corporate headquarters in New Hyde Park, New York was illuminated in blue to honor our fallen team members and recognize the enduring courage and spirit of our Northwell community.
Throughout these challenging times, Northwell has also supported our team members by expanding benefits, offering prayer groups and providing well-being resources from our Team Lavender, a program at Northwell that provides staff with an opportunity for timely emotional, spiritual and physical support. These resources, such as Tranquility Tents, which offered areas of respite for our hospital workers during their shifts, and opportunities for 1:1 counseling through our Employee Assistance Program, have allowed for us to care for our team members as they delivered care to our communities. A 24/7, free and confidential, emotional support call center for all team members and their families also provided emotional well-being experts to answer their questions, provide additional resources, or just listen.
At Northwell Health, we will continue to battle this pandemic, look forward to brighter days, and support our team members.
We will always remember our brave fallen team members and their families. Join us as we spread the light.
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Northwell nurse newlyweds deliver heartfelt care to our community
When Vanessa Baral, BSN, RN, and Herwyn Silva, BSN, RN, CEN, first met over a decade ago, their shared nursing experience helped them to bond. Today, their love for nursing—now as Northwell employees—continues to complement their love for each other as they begin their married life together.
Though they work in separate Northwell hospitals and units, Vanessa in the ICU at LIJ Forest Hills and Herwyn in the Emergency Department at Lenox Hill Hospital, they appreciate how their shared profession helps them to understand each other on a different level. This unique insight became especially valued as they both cared for COVID-19 patients at their hospitals at the start of the pandemic last March.
“Both of us being RNs is very comforting, especially in these different times. In the ICU and ED, we work with some of the sickest patients and see things most people don’t see or go through,” says Herwyn. “Having that support person at home who knows what you go through at work is very comforting.” Vanessa agrees adding, “We can support each other whenever we have a rough day at work or at home knowing that we have been there and that we are doing it together.”
Hoda Kotb officiates Herwyn and Vanessa’s socially distant wedding live on the Today Show
And while they delivered care to our patients during this unprecedented time, Vanessa and Herwyn also made the difficult decision to put their wedding plans, originally scheduled for May 17, 2020, on hold to ensure the safety of their family and loved ones. Life, however, had other plans in store for them. In a celebration of their work as healthcare heroes on the front-lines, Vanessa and Herwyn were given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have their wedding ceremony live on the Today Show on June 25th, 2020, ordained by Hoda Kotb herself.
After their wedding, they continued to deliver compassionate patient care and today they also serve in another role as nurses: working at our vaccination sites. Distributing vaccines allows them to deliver hope to patients in the form of a brighter tomorrow while working side-by-side.
“Distributing vaccines is an upbeat and happy moment we share with the community and a break from the difficult situations we sometimes deal with in the ICU and ED,” says Herwyn. “We vaccinated people who were looking forward to finally being able to see grandchildren, to essential workers and group home residents. These moments, full with nerves for some, are also filled with moments of hope and happiness.”
“The past year has been rough for everyone but being a duo has made it easier,” says Vanessa. “From working the frontlines as nurses, getting married live on tv during a pandemic, and now vaccinating our communities, we are happy to share our story with people to just spread joy in times when it feels more needed than ever.”
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Rebecca’s experience during COVID-19 in Northwell’s Reassignment Reserve
As COVID-19 peaked throughout New York, Northwell Health took the initiative to create a Reassignment Reserve team. This team was comprised of healthcare heroes from a variety of clinical and non-clinical backgrounds who were temporarily reassigned to other facilities that needed extra assistance.
Meet Rebecca Reinold, a practice registered nurse at Family Medicine of Lindenhurst, Long Island, who was redeployed as a nurse practicing bedside patient care for six weeks at Plainview Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a change from her day-to-day activities as a practice nurse but a role she embraced. “I felt an obligation to help as many people as I could—staff and patients alike,” says Rebecca.
Rebecca’s career journey before COVID-19
Rebecca started her career at Northwell as a practice office associate at General Pediatrics of Garden City in 2014. After graduating college as a registered nurse, she started working at Lenox Hill Hospital on the Orthopedic Unit. She then transferred to North Shore University Hospital to the Orthopedic Trauma Unit and has since left bedside nursing to be a practice nurse at one of our many physician practices. She is also currently pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, at the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies with the assistance of Northwell’s tuition reimbursement program.
Career development during a critical time
During a pandemic, learning opportunities and professional skills development is not top of mind, yet Rebecca’s growth came in many ways at this critical time. Before going back to bedside care, Rebecca attended a refresher course that Northwell provided for those who wanted to brush up on their in-patient skills. Rebecca says, “My fellow nurses were very supportive if I had any questions regarding current protocols and practices.”
To ensure our team members and patients were safely cared for, all team members were fit tested and Northwell had ample personal protection equipment (PPE) available. Because of this, Rebecca stated that she never felt that her safety was compromised whenever she was at work. This created a safe work environment that allowed team members to feel comfortable.
During her reassignment, Rebecca held many duties but one stood out in particular. “One of the most significant roles that I held during my reassignment at Plainview Hospital was being able to help patients communicate with their families through video on an iPad,” says Rebecca. She felt a strong connection to her patients in this role because she also had a family member hospitalized at Northwell due to COVID. Rebecca was extremely grateful knowing her family member was provided the utmost care and that she was able to connect with them in the same way she connected her patients to their families to ensure they were not alone.
Once her reassignment at Plainview Hospital ended, Rebecca was temporarily reassigned to another internal medicine office in Woodbury, Long Island. Once again she had to adapt to a new location and policies due to the pandemic. She was grateful to be supported by leadership and her new team was very welcoming. Her role resumed as a practice registered nurse where she worked alongside the lead nurse and together they completed daily tasks such as medication refills, hospital follow-up calls, immunizations and assisting patients in the practice and by phone.
On the last day of her reassignment, Rebecca was surprised with balloons and treats for a sweet goodbye. “During my last day at Woodbury, the staff thanked me with a beautiful card and balloons.” This was an experience that Rebecca will never forget. “I would highly recommend joining the Reassignment Reserve team. It is a great way for healthcare providers to show how dynamic and versatile they are.”
Northwell is an organization that offers endless opportunities to its employees for pursing personal and professional development. Rebecca says, “I cannot say enough about how this organization has given me every opportunity to be the best version of myself.”
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A humble hero of America’s COVID-19 response
Written by: Brian Donnelly
In one 29-hour period, a nurse practitioner assessed and treated some of the earliest COVID-19 patients in the US stuck aboard a cruise ship off the coast of California.
Bouncing back and forth in nautical step with the rough tide of the San Francisco coast, Bryan Lovejoy, DNP, 37, and his eight-person team passed under the Golden Gate Bridge; then the Bay Bridge in a small US Coast Guard patrol boat.
It was March 8, 2020.
“It was actually a nice little cruise when you get right down to it,” Mr. Lovejoy said, despite the sounds of seasickness surrounding him. “There were whales at one point, just kind of jumping around out there.”
Passing Alcatraz, the nurse practitioner at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) — now farther than 3,000 miles from home — knew they were getting close to their destination — a 1,000-foot, 14-deck luxury cruise liner carrying 2,300 passengers and 1,100 crew members. The Grand Princess had been stuck 50 miles off the coast for days due to COVID-19 spreading rapidly among those onboard.
“I was kind of nervous about it. I saw the news,” he said. “The plan at the time was to try to keep this novel coronavirus out of the US as much as we could. Of course, we soon found out community spread was inevitable.”
The father of two and Smithtown, NY, resident is part of a 30-member disaster medical assistance team (DMAT). On behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, DMAT responds to areas impacted by a health care crisis, like natural disasters, when local response capabilities are impaired.
In 2017 Mr. Lovejoy spent two weeks in both Houston and Puerto Rico in response to deadly hurricanes.
“You just don’t know what you’re going into entirely,” he said. “The situations are very dynamic.”
But, from March 8-9, an eight-person DMAT contingent faced a threat unlike any they had seen before.
“Our main objective was to identify how prevalent COVID-19 was on the ship before taking passengers off,” said Mr. Lovejoy, who joined DMAT in 2007. “Not many people had any experience with this virus yet, and definitely not on a cruise ship.”
Being prepared
Mr. Lovejoy’s coworkers at NSUH saw their first COVID-19 patient March 7, while he was heading out west to his next mission.
“Especially under the circumstances we are in during a crisis, it takes a leader like Mr. Lovejoy to put aside his personal priorities and become actively involved in a life-threatening mission like this,” said Susan Wirostek, nurse manager at NSUH.
There are two months each year during which a DMAT volunteer can be called into service, which is why Mr. Lovejoy keeps a bag packed with some basic necessities.
“You never really get used to it,” said Mr. Lovejoy’s wife, Dawn, 39. “Every situation is different. They’re all anxiety producing in their own way.”
The call for this latest mission came just before midnight on March 6. After spending a day with their kids, Julia, 9, and James, 5, he and Dawn were watching a movie — John Wick 2.
“Sometimes I have very limited notice,” he said, adding he still hasn’t seen the end of that movie. “I’m given my travel orders, I pack my bags and I’m out within a day going to wherever this is.”
Boarding the Grand Princess
Mr. Lovejoy was on a plane by 8 a.m. the next morning. Leaving his family, he said, is often the most difficult part of his work.
“This one definitely stood out as the worst,” Dawn added, “because as time progressed the virus got worse and worse here in New York. I was scared.”
With the Grand Princess in sight, the team of eight braved high swells and dangerous conditions to board a life raft sent to their US Coast Guard transport – the first of two “high consequence, zero margin transfers,” wrote Robert Kadlec, MD, assistant secretary for preparedness and response (ASPR), in a letter of commendation to Mr. Lovejoy.
“After safely boarding the Grand Princess, Mr. Lovejoy quickly demonstrated his clinical competencies and selfless focus on the mission as part of the HASTY rapid triage team, which executed near continuous operations for 29 hours, while wearing bio-containment equipment,” the high-ranking DHHS official wrote.
Jumping from the lifeboat onto the cruise ship ladder, Mr. Lovejoy’s team scaled the massive vessel, rung-by-rung.
“It’s big,” he admitted, quick to downplay the feet. “It didn’t take too long. I just remember thinking, ‘don’t look down and don’t let go.’”
Playing a crucial role
Starting near 7 p.m., Mr. Lovejoy worked through the night and into the next day, performing medical assessments and triage of more than 1,100 US citizens — breaking only for emergency rehydration. Mr. Kadlec wrote that their effort, “played a crucial role in the pre-positioning of critical medical assets, supporting personnel and operational planning by federal, state and local emergency responders.”
With his mission complete, the Grand Princess was allowed to dock and passengers to disembark from the ship. Those that showed symptoms of the virus had to be isolated and those that weren’t had to be quarantined — data now known thanks to Mr. Lovejoy and his team.
“And because of the nature of everything I ended up getting quarantined myself,” said Mr. Lovejoy, whose entire team spent 14 days at the University of Nebraska. “And fortunately we never ended up showing symptoms or getting sick.”
Both in quarantine and upon his return home and to work in late March, the lifelong Long Islander had a heightened fear, Dawn said, of contracting the novel virus.
“I have asthma, so I didn’t know how well I’d respond if I did get it,” Mr. Lovejoy added.
A quiet hero
When he left the Grand Princess March 9, there were 647 reported cases of COVID-19 in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By the time he returned home March 23, there were more than 44,000 cases. That number nearly doubled when he returned to work a few days later.
Knowing this – and his particular risk — Mr. Lovejoy knew, still, where he needed to be. Like walking door-to-door on the Grand Princess, he floated from COVID unit-to-COVID unit at NSUH throughout the crisis, treating the explosion of patients showing up daily.
“When he went on the mission and when he goes to work every day, he knows how vulnerable he is,” Dawn said. “So, I consider him just a quiet hero, leading in his own way.”
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Behind the Mask: Working as a Respiratory Therapist during the COVID-19 pandemic
Written by: Drew Devlin, RRT, LRCP, Director, Respiratory Care / Sleep Lab / Pulmonary Rehab, Southside Hospital
To say that the respiratory care team was instrumental throughout the COVID-19 pandemic would be an understatement. Although the respiratory care team has always been critical in patient care, it was in this pandemic battling a respiratory virus that the team had a moment to shine, and that is just what they did. Our respiratory therapists have touched every patient in one way or another by providing oxygen, running blood gasses, participating in intubations, managing ventilators, transporting patients to CT scans, and from emergency rooms to other critical care units. We have also been part of the process to meet the challenges of converting noninvasive ventilators into units that were now able to provide invasive applications. This team has truly been front and center playing a large part in caring for our patients during this period in an innovative way.
As the leader of the respiratory care team, I am truly proud of the work they did and how they stepped up to the plate during this difficult time of need. In order to deliver care during the outbreak, the work of the team evolved quickly and continued to change throughout the pandemic. Essentially, our normal process and daily responsibilities were completely revamped to adjust to the high volume of patients and the level of care we were providing to our patients. New policies, processes and protocols were developed rapidly and the respiratory care team was able to play a crucial role in the strategy and development of the new responsibilities. With respiratory therapists being so vital due to the nature of the illness, it gave them a great sense of purpose to be able to step in and provide their expertise. These healthcare heroes were truly able to make a major difference.
Respiratory care team members used posters to leave inspiring messages to each other throughout the pandemic.
Throughout stressful work conditions and long hours, team members found moments of hope and motivation by standing united together. I watched as they came to work every day with pain in their eyes and concern in their hearts for their patients, their colleagues, and their families, and yet they continuously provided the best care possible. There was camaraderie and collaboration throughout the whole process, and they really showed each other what it meant to not only be a team, but a family. To keep our spirits up, we would take time to share positive results of patients and track successful outcomes even after they left our care. There was also constant communication through emails, text messages, and postings on the walls throughout the department including pictures of the team hanging up as a constant reminder that we were all in this together. I also looked for articles on motivation to provide to the team and had the Chaplin come speak to the team in an effort to provide hope during this difficult time.
As a team, we also tried to talk about our experiences and share what we were going through to help each other out and know that we were not in this alone. We also brought in additional resources in the form of respiratory therapists from outside of the organization, to provide extra support and helping hands. This also enhanced motivation amongst the team because there was a realization that we were in a global battle, us versus the virus, and our best chance was to have all hands on deck and work together as a united team with respiratory therapists from near and far. It was also comforting and reassuring to see frequent visits from the senior leadership team to see how the team was doing, ask if there was anything we needed and how they could assist in any way.
The whole respiratory team exceeded expectations during this time, and I know this experience has made them stronger and even better than before. Each and every person on this team is my hero and we always consider ourselves a team and a family. Together, through this experience, they rose to the occasion and I am proud of the entire team for the work they have done and the care they have provided.
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Beyond the PPE: Two nurses help patients and staff connect during COVID
Lulette Infante and Antonella Farrell, registered nurses at Northwell Health and lifelong friends, came together during the COVID pandemic to identify a solution for our clinical team members so they could maintain that personal connection during patient care. These two incredible nurses wanted to ensure that our patients would still be able to see the identities of our healthcare heroes, whose faces were covered by their personal protection equipment (PPE), so they created photo badges for our clinical staff to wear over their PPE.
The idea was prompted after reading a New York Times article featuring Cohen Children’s Medical Center’s Senior Vice President Dr. Schlein who acknowledged his gratitude to the frontline workers who saved his life from COVID, but he had no idea who they were because of their PPE. Thus, Project Unseen Heroes was formed so patients would be able to see the smiling, caring faces of our frontline workers.
A career journey that surpasses two decades
Both Lulette Infante, MSN, RN, CPON, and Antonella Farrell, BSN, RN, began their careers more than two decades ago as a student nurse intern from Adelphi University at CCMC in 1996. They advanced their careers at Northwell throughout their journey, holding a variety of roles and responsibilities along the way. Today, Lulette is an ambulatory nurse specialist and ambulatory administrator at Northwell where she focuses on quality and optimization for pediatric practices, and Antonella Farrellis is a pediatric Hematology/Oncology, pediatric sickle cell nurse coordinator at CCMC.
One small idea leads to big results
Lulette and Antonella first introduced the large photo badges at CCMC and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, receiving numerous positive responses from leadership, staff and patients. Lulette notes patients even commented, “so that’s what you look like!” Eventually they were able to guide other hospitals, including Northern Westchester, Lenox Hill, Huntington Hospital and even external hospitals such as Elmhurst Hospital, to develop photo badges for their team members.
“The staff is reporting back that they felt it is truly helping their patients now that they can see the smile behind the mask,” Antonella says. The staff has been sending Lulette and Antonella pictures of themselves in the PPE with their badges. Having the large picture badges enabled our frontline workers to maintain that personal connection while caring for their patients while being fully secured under their PPE at the same time.
“We could not even start without the incredible support we have received from our leadership and their commitment to continually enhance patient experience and promote compassionate care,” Lulette says.
Project Unseen Heroes was a success due to Lulette and Antonella’s teamwork. Patients feel more comfortable in the hospital seeing the badges on the nurses and doctors, knowing who is taking care of them.
Lulette and Antonella are true examples of Northwell Heroes. Are you ready to become a Northwell Hero? Join our team.
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Braving uncertainty during uncertain times
Written by: Cassidy Toben, Assistant Nurse Manager, Emergency Department, Lenox Hill Hospital
Northwell Health is proud to spotlight our front line health care workers. See how Northwell clinicians – doctors and nurses – are responding and working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read their stories here.
Cassidy Toben, RN, finds a new niche as COVID-19 forces health care workers to shift roles
As an assistant nurse manager, I’m lucky to have the opportunity to inspire and motivate our nurses and staff, really coach them through their nursing journey. And during the COVID-19 crisis, my role has shifted, transitioning into even more administrative responsibilities.
I’m not always in the rooms with COVID patients, and there’s a sense of guilt that comes with that. Togetherness and camaraderie are built within nurses. It’s our calling — caring for another as if we are the patients we are restoring to health. Leading my team is also a calling, one that I’ve relished during this situation.
Since COVID-19 reached our doors at Lenox Hill Hospital, we’ve bundled care, limiting the number of people and trips in and out of patient rooms. What you might do in a few trips, you do all at once now.
On tough days, and there have been many, one of my nurses will need me to serve as a sounding board to vent about harrowing experiences, or to cry with them about a lost patient. Being this support system is critical to their well-being. We all share the burden and have a stake in this.
I went into nursing to save lives and to help people. But, you realize quickly that you can’t save everybody. That’s really humbling.
The scariest day during this experience came at the end of March. New York was just hitting its peak and COVID-19 patients arrived at alarming rates. One patient was talking to us and seemed pretty stable. About an hour later he coded. Everybody ran to his bedside. Then about 10 minutes after that, a patient on the other side of the emergency department coded — everyone ran to that bedside.
Then a third patient needed resuscitation.
I took a step back and, while watching every one race to the bedside, thought to myself, “Wow, the teamwork here is really inspirational.” The compassion that they showed to the patients, to each other, it eased my fears that day. We have each other’s backs and we support each other. We take care of our patients and we go home. Most of us go home alone. We don’t get to hug our parents. We don’t get to see our families. So, we’re really in this together.
But worry does come over the staff. Patients begin to remind you of your family — many times you’re acting as their family, with visitation suspended in hospitals. And then you worry about your own family, and then yourself.
(Deep breath)
My first symptoms started on March 26, a curious cough that would lead into fatigue and shortness of breath. My husband and I decided it would be safer to stay together than risk exposing anybody else in my family. Still, the thought of getting him sick caused so much anxiety that I started having nightmares. I dreamt that I got him sick and he was dying, because that’s what we were seeing each day. And any health care worker can tell you that they have that exact same fear. It’s not about me. I can handle me. But I don’t want to hurt the people I love.
After two weeks of being ill, I returned to work. I still struggle to sleep, but now it’s our patients that I worry about. It’s also really rewarding to see that our staff has risen above a lot of the challenges, remaining positive at every corner. So, even on days when I’m operating on little sleep, I come into work feeling like we can succeed. We are together and we’re going to get through it.
Luckily, the situation has improved — the volume in the emergency department has slowed. People are staying home, and we’re now on the right part of the curve. Devastation has turned into hope. We’ve lost a tremendous amount, people we know, grandparents, friends. So, we must remember those who are lost and work through each day with positivity.
In a time where it’s hard not to think about yourself and your family and worry about getting sick, people are still thinking about each other here. That is just absolutely incredible. It makes it all worthwhile, providing purpose and an unrelenting desire to help another.
That’s what nursing is truly about.
Cassidy Toben, RN, is an assistant nurse manager in Lenox Hill Hospital’s emergency department.
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Written by: Colleen Conaty BSN, RN-BC, Float Team, North Shore University Hospital
Behind the Mask: Working as a Float RN during the COVID-19 pandemic
Being clinical professionals, we were excited and honored to be a part of history by saving lives – but we could not have anticipated what the next weeks would bring. Though it was unlike anything we could have imagined, my team managed our small unit like champions. As the first designated unit, we were also the first to use personal protective equipment (PPE). We then used our experience to start the education process to teach others how to don and doff PPE properly. From respiratory therapists and environmental service workers to doctors and advanced clinical providers the float team was there to educate them all. We wanted to make sure each member of our North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) team would be able to fight this battle safely.
As the need for more COVID units arose, we opened our unit happily to the ICU nurses who expanded their services to care for patients. We showed them where our supplies were kept and oriented them to our unit so they could take care of the sickest patients. The float team’s challenge was then opening two brand-new units and our nurses, PCAs and CSAs, proudly came in on days off to help support our patients. Every time a manager would ask for more staff many volunteers would offer each time – all to make sure our team members weren’t going to be overwhelmed.
We are still fighting, but the most amazing thing I’ve noticed over the past weeks isn’t just the amount of lives we’ve saved, but that everyone is still smiling. My team carries on with the same smiles and laughs they’ve always had, sending each other heartfelt messages throughout the day. Come to one of our units at any time and I guarantee you’ll hear uplifting music playing from our nursing stations. You’ll find a busy nurse still making time to go room to room with an iPad, helping our patients to FaceTime their family. A few happy tears are shed when we learn a patient has been discharged or when we hear “Here Comes the Sun” play overhead, and celebrating that a patient gets to live because they won the battle – that we won the battle together.
I have never seen strength like this in my lifetime. Though these times are dark, this team has brought light into this world and shown me what it means to truly be a hero. Working aside these people has been the privilege and the honor of a lifetime. Float team, you are saving lives every single day and going through one of the hardest times, arguably of our lifetime, and you’re facing it with positivity. I am so proud of you all and so proud to call you my float family.
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Joining the fight: Meet Alison Laxer, MD
Northwell Health is proud to spotlight our front line health care workers. See how Northwell clinicians – doctors and nurses – are responding and working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read their stories here.
After graduating early from the Zucker School of Medicine, Alison Laxer, MD, is entering the effort to care for COVID-19 patients.
March 25 is a day I will never forget. Not because I celebrated my birthday with my family, but because I learned something that would change my life forever.
Late that Wednesday evening, I received a message about a Zoom virtual meeting with Lawrence Smith, MD, MACP, dean of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, where I was well into my fourth year. We usually don’t have meetings with the dean like this, but under the current circumstances, anything was possible. Dr. Smith told us we are graduating early and have the option to join the fight against the coronavirus.
My parents, who are both physicians, were nervous. And rightfully so. Who would want their child to voluntarily be exposed to COVID-19? But they understood and would’ve taken the opportunity to do the right thing if they were in my situation. We are physicians after all. This is what we signed up for.
My boyfriend, Alexander Smith, MD, who is also in my class, had similar feelings about the decision — he said we can be a part of history. We both decided independently, and it was never a question of if to do it, but when do we start?
The truth is, I will start in a few days. I finished virtual training earlier this week. Fear. Excitement. Concern. There’s a wide range of emotions flowing. We know we won’t see our families. We know we should avoid highly populated places like grocery stores. But we also know that we can help make a difference for so many struggling with the pandemic.
They say your fourth year of medical school is supposed to be a glorious time. Alex and I had plans to go to Europe, then the Caribbean, then to my cousin’s home in Chicago. It was supposed to be a time to really relax and rest before starting my residency at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. It’s strange that I will be spending this time at a hospital rather than a beach. But if this is what is needed, I’m going.
To say I’m scared would be an understatement. This is something we have never done before and I think I’m more nervous about not being very helpful. I know Northwell has plenty of personal protective equipment. And I can see the camaraderie among staff who are celebrated and sharing their experiences in the media. I just want to play my part.
This virus has touched so many lives. I never thought being a doctor was a hazardous profession, not like a firefighter or policewoman. But we will be exposed and our mission has never been greater. Hopefully, this will encourage more people to go into medicine.
Alison Laxer, MD, is a recent graduate of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine. After assisting in the fight against COVID-19, she will assume her pediatric residency.
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Connecting with coronavirus patients, and their families
Northwell Health is proud to spotlight our front line health care workers. See how Northwell clinicians – doctors and nurses – are responding and working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read their stories here.
Nicole Fishman, RN, isn’t just caring for COVID-19 patients at Huntington Hospital, she’s helping them communicate with their families too. Hear her story.
During the COVID-19 crisis, there’s been an even greater focus on caring for our patients as whole people in light of very limited visitation policies. They sometimes get scared having minimal contact with their friends and families. But my staff and I have been proactively calling family members and giving them updates on their loved one throughout the day. We are also using iPads and tablets to Facetime and Skype with families, so they can share their love with our patients.
When we are communicating with families through tablets, I think about my own parents and how I would want them to be treated if they were in this situation.
It’s been amazing getting so much support from throughout our hospital. All of the people are are caring for are either suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. So everyone is isolated and requires a higher level of care. We are managing this by working as a team, staying strong and supporting each other in any way that we can. As expected, we’re taking everything day by day.
Wearing all of this additional gear can make it harder to breathe, which is why we need more frequent breaks. I try to take advantage of any time away, going outside for fresh air and to clear my head.
All of Huntington Hospital’s employees have been so appreciative of the meals that we’ve received from community donations. It’s been very helpful to not have to worry about cooking or preparing food. We can focus on what matters most — our patients.
One thing I’ve been surprised about is that younger patients — people in their 40s, 50s and 60s — are deteriorating faster than I would have anticipated. Some don’t have a past medical history of pre-existing conditions.
I’m fortunate to have a very supportive boyfriend who’s at home cooking and taking care of things while I’m out fighting COVID-19. Many of the other nurses on my unit have supportive significant others who have been writing encouraging letters and packing food for us.
When I leave work, I take several precautions in an attempt to protect my boyfriend from this dangerous virus. I change my shoes before I get into the car and shower immediately when I get home. I take all of my clothes off right by the door and throw them straight into the washing machine on a hot water setting. I feel safer being on my unit versus out in the community because we’re all wearing the proper protective gear and the unit is constantly being cleaned.
As advice from someone who has witnessed the devastation COVID-19 causes, please listen to what everyone’s saying. Stay home. Only then can people hopefully stay out of the hospital. If you don’t have to go out, please don’t.
Even though the world seems on hold right now, for health care workers it’s more like business as usual. Caring for our patients in all circumstances is what we’re made for.
Nicole Fishman, RN, is a nurse manager at Huntington Hospital.
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