ISLANDERS THROUGH COVID-19 PANDEMIC
BESTOFLONGISLAND.COM WINNERS GUIDE BETHPAGE BEST OF LONG ISLAND 2021 69
The new moms she’s seen coming
through the doors are resilient.
“They are amazing and can adapt
to anything,” she said. “I’m really impressed
with our community of moms.
Even though the world may look a little
chaotic, it’s still a time to celebrate happy
moments.”
BEST MEDICAL
TRANSPORTATION
COMPANY
MEDFORD VOLUNTEER
AMBULANCE BRINGS
PRE-HOSPITAL CARE, COMFORT
TO PATIENTS IN PANDEMIC
Medford Volunteer Ambulance
EMTs rely on teamwork and each other
to answer the public’s call in the
crisis — bringing emergency care and
comfort in pre-hospital transport —
making sure each patient has the best
chance for recovery.
Volunteer EMT Justin Zimmerman
credits a “close-knit” group among the
volunteers who get each other through
many of the unique and often difficult
challenges in Covid-19, such as when
patients don’t survive and feeling worried
about their own safety.
“In the beginning, I was trying
to manage my time here and being
around my family members,” he said.
“We all have older family members
and people who are immune-compromised.
It was about keeping them safe.
A lot of us have lost family members to
Covid.”
The EMTs in the company are
friends and work together on calls so
share this observation, according to
Zimmerman.
“Covid is a scary thing but we have
to put our fears aside,” he said. “This is
what we signed up to do and have to
help the community we said we would.”
Zimmerman also feels the media
attention on healthcare workers during
this pandemic can sometimes confuse
people about the work of EMTs.
“The public is seeing what we do,”
he said. “Yes, we’re dealing with Covid
but the emergencies are the same as
EMTs do on a daily basis, the same
that have been handled as long as there
have been medical professionals.”
The emphasis on the emergency
calls is helping the patient and family
be calm, Zimmerman said.
“We try to reassure them,” he said.
“A lot of times we get to the houses and
they don’t want to go to the hospital.
They are afraid. We know it’s a scary
situation and there are bad outcomes
so they need reassurance.
“The families are stressed because
their family member has been sick and
has a lot of issues,” he continued. “Now
with Covid being in the mix, the families
are freaking out. They don’t know
how safe the hospitals are. They worry
‘will the family member get Covid?’
A lot of the public is in the dark. To
have the unknown is what really scares
them.”
The EMTs follow New York State
guidelines for transporting Covid-19
patients, explained First Assistant
Chief John Skippon.
“We have a protocol to ask certain
questions to see if a patient meets the
criteria to go to the hospital that includes
things like if they need oxygen
and other emergency care,” Skippon
said. “When a patient is COVID-19
positive, the volunteers going on the
call have to wear jumpsuits along with
the N95 mask and goggles and one
EMT goes into the home to minimize
the risk to others, unless it is an emergency,
then all go in. The team effort
begins before the call when. They help
each other get into their jumpsuits.”
EMT Brianna Manganaro said 2020
was “rough.”
“At the hospital, they get intubated
and die and I also see others get extubated
and go home,” she related.
As an EMT it helps to have friends
on calls, she continued.
“At first we were uneasy,” she said.
“We were trying to comfort the patients.
We have cried, also happy
tears. You see them (patients) at their
worst. Justin, Mike, and I are best
friends.”
Mike Hannan is a volunteer EMT in
Medford and a New York City firefighter
and used to transport dying patients.
He said the Medford crew go out to the
nursing homes four or five times a day
some days.
“There was a little bit of fear at the
beginning of Covid from going into
people’s houses. Halfway through I
got used to it,” he said. “I’ve been exposed
to a lot of more scary and dangerous
situations than having to deal
with Covid. In the beginning, we didn’t
know enough about it and would worry
about being exposed.”
Hannan wound up getting the virus
and was sick with all the symptoms, he
said. Sadly, his father too contracted
covid and had to be put on a ventilator
and died in January.
“Everybody is scared when they
first contract Covid-19,” he said. “In
Suffolk County, we have a protocol in
place for the pandemic to take them
to the hospital. If we transport someone
it’s because their vital signs are not
good. You can see the fear in their eyes.
I feel for the patients. I can understand
where they’re coming from. There were
a couple of times I was thinking ‘this is
not good’.
“The more experience EMTs have
they get used to it,” he continued. “I’ve
been an EMT for 12 years. I feel bad for
the family members of the patients for
what they have to deal with. But I’ve
become callous because of so many
cardiac arrest calls.”
Teamwork is the most important
part of the emergency calls, Manganaro
explained.
“We know what to do next because
we all know each other,” she said. “You
already know it can be a sad outcome.
You have to push through anyway. You
see negative outcomes more than positive.”
Manganaro had Covid with few
symptoms. Her grandmother died
from Covid-19.
“You treat every patient like it’s your
own family member,” she said.
EMT Mike Hannon responding to a house call.
Photo Credit: Medford Volunteer Ambulance.
EMTs Brianna Manganaro, Mike Hannon and Justin Zimmerman.
Photo Credit: Medford Volunteer Ambulance
/BESTOFLONGISLAND.COM
