FROM
LIC
COURIER
Meet Viktoriya Laskina
Astoria nurse takes pride in caring for patients
during COVID-19 pandemic
28 MAY 2 0 2 0
HOSPITAL HERO
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Viktoriya Laskina of Astoria takes
pride in her career working as a
registered nurse at Mount Sinai
Queens Hospital, where she
has spent 20 years caring for
patients.
“It’s always been my passion
and the patients come first,”
Laskina said. “There are certain days
it is stressful being a nurse, but at the
end of the day I go home knowing I
helped people. I don’t think I would
be satisfied with sitting at a desk
shuffling papers.”
In February, Laskina was recognized
by Mount Sinai Queens with
a DAISY Award for Extraordinary
Nurses, which was established to
celebrate the extraordinary compassion
nurses provide their patients
and families every day.
Since graduating from Adelphi
University in 1999 with a bachelor of
science degree in nursing, Laskina
said she knew it was her calling to
help people — especially at a time
when healthcare professionals are
battling the coronavirus.
“We are in the medical profession
and it’s our job to help patients get
better,” Laskina said. “The country is in
a crisis, and as a nurse it’s my obligation
to put my heart and soul into my
work and do what I can to help them.”
For 20 years, Laskina has been
working in the Medical/Surgical 4
Department, where surgeries have
been canceled as nurses and doctors
treat coronavirus patients in respiratory
distress.
While treating coronavirus patients,
Laskina also became ill in early
April and was quarantined in her
home for two weeks. Following her
recovery, she returned to the hospital
to continue working on the front
lines with her colleagues.
“I was nervous, but yet happy to
return because laying in bed makes
you feel like you’re not productive
with your time,” Laskina said.
“Thanks to my family and being