Nurses week
Gay nurses bring it home during the coronavirus crisis
BY MATT TRACY
It has become a ritual at hospitals across the nation:
A recovered coronavirus patient exits the facility to
a cheering send-off from hospital staff — a glimmer
of hope in an era that has been dominated by themes of
morbidity.
What happens when the cheering stops, however,
doesn’t always follow the same course: Sometimes it
represents the closing of a horrifi c chapter and a return
to normalcy, but other times it means a transition from
inpatient care to in-home care overseen by a crew of nurses
who quietly make sure those individuals continue on the
path to recovery. Nurses are also called on to care for
COVID-19 patients who are still showing symptoms of
illness but got sent home because of overcrowded hospitals.
Countless medical professionals, including queer nurses,
have risked and lost their lives in the fi ght against the
coronavirus. Out gay Mount Sinai RN Kious Kelly, for
example, died of the coronavirus in March after weeks of
working without suffi cient personal protective equipment.
Other LGBTQ nurses are also playing a pivotal role in
the fi ght against the coronavirus, including outside of the
hospital environment. A handful of out gay nurses with
the Visiting Nurse Services of New York (VNSNY) spoke
to Gay City News detailing their own journeys visiting the
homes of more than a half dozen patients a day during the
coronavirus crisis, including patients who have the virus.
The nurses, equipped with cultural competency training
PHOTO BY VNSNY
Out gay RN Cidric Trinidad, who serves Queens communities
that have been hit especially hard by the
coronavirus pandemic, sleeps in a separate space
from his partner to avoid spreading COVID-19.
from Advocacy & Services for LGBT Elders (SAGE), help
provide care for patients and communicate with doctors
to coordinate medical game plans.
“We put together a plan of care specifi c to each patient,”
said Mike Guglielmelli, an out gay registered nurse (RN)
who is serving patients in Staten Island. “Every day we
actually get more and more referrals for patients who are
COVID-positive.”
It can often take days or weeks for the most updated
coronavirus numbers to be refl ected in statistical breakdowns
because the virus, as rapid as it moves, can take
some time to show up as well as to dissipate. And nurses
are also seeing an uptick in their share of coronavirus
patients because those who were admitted to hospitals in
previous weeks are getting discharged.
These nurses do not just care for the patients and clock
out at the end of the day. They are responsible for working
with their patients’ families, educating them on the
patients’ unique needs, and doing what is necessary to
ensure a seamless transition into independence.
Inclusivity is another factor in the nurses’ work, and
while it is not always known whether a patient is a member
of the LGBTQ community, many nurses make it a point
to show solidarity by donning Rainbow pins and certainly
respecting Rainbow Flags that are on display in patients’
homes. It is not lost on them that the LGBTQ community
suffered unnecessary hardships during the height of the
AIDS crisis when countless individuals were neglected in
healthcare settings and ignored by government and public
health leaders.
Some LGBTQ nurses who worked on the frontlines of
the AIDS crisis and are now in the fi ght against coronavirus
are seeing striking similarities between the two crises.
“Unfortunately what I see is many of the same social
determinants of health that were not corrected after the
HIV/ AIDS epidemic,” said VNSNY’s LGBTQ program
director, Arthur Fitting, an RN whose job entails managing
the organization’s approach to queer health issues and
providing outreach to community partners such as SAGE,
GRIOT Circle, and GMHC.
This story fi rst appeared on gaycitynews.com.
Broadway Stages wants to thank
all those on the frontline,
battling this pandemic, every day.
Thank you for your sacrifi ces,
your dedication, your compassion and your
resilience during this diffi cult time.
You are our heroes and we will forever be grateful.
10 May 7, 2020 Schneps Media
/gaycitynews.com
