care workers, our People of the Year
Staff at Wyckoff Hospital “worked as hard and as much as they can to try to save the lives of all the infected patients,” said Dr. Gustavo
Del Toro, executive vice president and chief medical officer of the hospital. Photo by Evelyn Chassagne
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JAN. 8-JAN. 14, 2021 13
and firefighters who ran into
the World Trade Center, at risk
to themselves, when everyone
else was running out; though
the attack cost 3,000 lives, tens
of thousands of others were
saved through such heroism.
The COVID-19 pandemic
wrought incomprehensible
devastation on our city during
the first wave. Now, amid
the second wave, the frontline
health care workers find themselves
sacrificing themselves
once more to save lives as more
patients enter their hospitals,
clinics and offices.
They keep running into danger
as the rest of us socially distance,
mask up and look to keep
away from it. That is the very
definition of heroism.
In the days of spring, New
Yorkers began holding a public
salute at 7 p.m. each night to
thank these special people for
stepping up in our defense. It
was a small gesture of gratitude
from a grateful city that will
forever be in their debt.
So, too, is this honor from all
of us to all of them.
The struggle against COVID-
19 is far from over, and the new
vaccine offers hope that the end
is finally in sight. But we can
find some comfort knowing that
between now and the end of the
crisis — and long after the pandemic
is but a painful memory
— these heroic men and women
stepped up to do their job, care
for the sick, comfort the dying
and heal this city.
We applaud and thank all of
our frontline health care workers
for the sacrifices they’ve
made. And if you’re looking
for the best way to honor them,
there is but one answer: stay
safe. Mask up. Keep socially distant.
Get the vaccine when it is
available to you.
Let’s do all that we can to
thank and protect our health
care heroes — because they
answer the call.
Elmhurst Hospital frontline workers are honored for their heroism
during COVID-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of Elmhurst Hospital
GatewayJFK executive director Scott Grimm-Lyon (r.) joins frontline workers at Jamaica Hospital after
delivering hundreds of meals. Courtesy of GatewayJFK
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Mayor Bill de
Blasio applaud Elmhurst Hospital health care workers.
Photo courtesy of Queens Borough President’s offi ce
/QNS.COM
