BRONX TIMES R BTR EPORTER, MAY 8-14, 2020 21
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The nation pauses every
May to celebrate National
Nurses Week and honor the
army of men and women at
medical centers across the
country who play a critical
role in comforting and saving
the lives of countless patients.
But this year’s celebration
falls amid the coronavirus
pandemic that has already
claimed more than 68,000
American lives — including,
sadly, a tragic number of
nurses on the frontlines who
contracted the illness themselves
while tending to the
sick.
The New York State Nurses
Association is curating a memorial
page on their website
for nurses across the Empire
State who have succumbed to
COVID-19. They offer hints of
the dedication, the care and
love each provided to their patients
and colleagues throughout
their vocation.
Ernesto “Audie” DeLeon
served as a Bellevue Hospital
nurse in Manhattan for 30
years but died of COVID-19 on
April 13.
“During his tenure, he was
an incredible inspiration and a
mentor to hundreds of nurses,
doctors and other clinical
staff. He was an immensely
kind soul with a humble demeanor,”
said Claire Martinez,
one of his colleagues.
Mary Ellen Porter, the
nurse manager at Richmond
University Medical Center
who died of coronavirus on
April 9, “was always there for
her staff,” said fellow nurse
Diane Donaghy. “In the good
times, the bad times, when the
fl oors got crazy, she was quick
to put on scrubs and help them
when needed.”
Jacqueline Rowe, a Bellevue
Hospital nurse who died
on April 15, was “an amazing
colleague and friend,” one colleague
wrote. Theresa Lococo,
a pediatric nurse at Kings
County Medical Center who
died on March 28, “always had
the biggest smile, no matter
how busy the pediatric units
were,” wrote a co-worker.
These are just glimpses
into the dedicated lives of
these nurses who gave “their
last measure of devotion” by
caring for New Yorkers suffering
the worst effects of a
disease for which a cure or
vaccine is not yet available.
But thousands more nurses
are on duty at this very moment
in medical facilities
across the country, putting
their own lives on the line
while working hard alongside
physicians, lab technicians
and other professionals
to save as many people as possible.
Their herculean efforts
have not gone unnoticed by
the public — whether it’s
through the nightly applause
at 7 p.m. for healthcare workers
or organizations donating
food and other supplies to
emergency rooms across the
city.
For many nurses, however,
these gestures of gratitude
must also be backed up with
additional support so they can
protect themselves and their
own families.
The NYSNA has gone to
court seeking increased access
to N95 masks and protective
personal equipment (PPE)
to shield nurses and other
professionals from infection.
On Tuesday, the City Council
heard arguments over legislation
to create an “Essential
Workers Bill of Rights,” potentially
opening the door for
nurses to receive additional
pay for their efforts to stop
this contagious disease.
In reality, long before
coronavirus arrived at our
doorstep, these nurses have
deserved greater protection,
compensation and recognition
for the care they
provide their patients every
day. They work long shifts
and are on their feet most of
their day shuttling between
multiple patients, comforting
them while administering
tests and medication.
Maternity nurses guide
new mothers through the
painful, yet miraculous process
of childbirth. Emergency
nurses console the
victims of tragedy while also
scrambling with doctors to
save the victims. Nurses in
oncology wards help cancer
patients cope with the illness
they’re battling. Palliative
care nurses offer comfort
and solace not just to
terminal patients in their fi -
nal days, but also their families.
The pandemic has brought
forth a new awareness about
the incredible work of our
nurses, who take the oath
Florence Nightingale wrote
to “maintain and elevate the
standard of their profession,”
to be loyal to their duties
and be “devoted towards
the welfare of those committed
to their care.”
We thank and honor all
nurses for their service, and
we hope our readers will do
the same.
OUR HEROES
Now More Than Ever