BY JASON COHEN
Battling a terminal illness,
Patria Villalona’s mother
wanted her daughter to do one
thing: become a nurse. Today,
the Bronx resident is fulfi lling
that wish.
Villalona, of Grand Concourse,
is a care team supervisor
in internal medicine at
AdvantageCare Physicians’
(ACPNY) in Washington
Heights. She has worked long
hours during the pandemic,
seen an enormous amount of
life lost, administered vaccines
to millions of New Yorkers
and made a difference in
the community.
“What I love about ACPNY
is that you become the nurse
for the community,” Villalona
said. “If you work at a hospital,
you might see people and never
see them again, but at ACPNY,
you serve your community.
That allows patients to be very
familiar with you and it’s more
direct.”
However, her path to nursing
is unique and did not happen
overnight.
Born and raised in Washington
Heights, Villalona, 45,
loved singing and acting and
wanted to be a rockstar like
Madonna.
She studied theater and
psychology at CUNY, but upon
graduating, took a career path
no one would have expected.
Villalona landed a job with a
national clothing company and
worked in sales for 20 years.
However, by 2015, the retail
industry was in the middle of
an economic decline, and she
had soured on her career profession.
“I noticed women weren’t
treated as equal as men when
commissions came,” she said.
During that time, her mom,
Rosario, got very sick and
told her daughter that before
she dies, she wanted her to do
something that would benefi t
the community. As the doctors
gave Rosario just fi ve years to
live, Villalona was determined
to fulfi ll her mother’s wish.
Not only are many of her
family members doctors and
nurses, but seeing the way the
nurses supported her mother
when she received treatment
for pulmonary fi brosis made
Villalona realize that this was
a job where she could pay this
care and attention forward.
“Everyone in my family
said Patria you should be a
nurse,” she said. “Going with
her to all the appointments and
seeing how the doctors cared I
was so thankful for all the doctors
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,32 SEPT. 17-23, 2021 BTR
and nurses.”
Her mom passed away in
2015 and Villalona followed
through on her promise and
became a nurse in 2018. She
landed her fi rst job with
ACPNY in the same neighborhood
she grew up in. According
to Villalona, the transition
to nursing has transformed
her life. Being able to help people,
especially those who lack
insurance, is quite meaningful.
ACPNY has become a second
home for Villalona, and
she described it as special because
of the community feel of
the company.
“You talk to the same patients,
you know their stories,
you know their lives, so it’s almost
like a family,” she said. “I
enjoy it a lot. I have magnifi -
cent coworkers.”
But not even two years on
the job, everything changed
when the pandemic hit.
Vilalona witnessed many of
her patients get the virus, get
sick and die. She was there
when some of them took their
last breath, she said. It was an
emotionally challenging time
that she hopes she will never
have to experience again.
Bronx resident Patria Villalona works as a nurse at AdvantageCare Physicians
in Washington Heights. Her profession is a constant reminder of a
promise she made to her dying mom years ago.
Photo courtesy Patria Villalona
“It was very hard, but we
came to work every day,” Villalona
said. “The reason why
I didn’t go crazy was because I
wasn’t home.”
After battling through the
worst of the pandemic, she is
now making sure the patients
get the COVID-19 vaccine as
she has seen fi rsthand how
her community has either
been underserved or hesitant
toward receiving the vaccinations.
But through all the death
she’s witnessed during COVID
19, Vilalona doesn’t regret
switching careers.
“I’m having an impact on
someone’s life,” she said. “It’s
a great experience. It’s made
me a stronger person.”
Nurse fulfi lls mom’s dying wish
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