St. John’s Episcopal Hospital honors its COVID-19 heroes
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
St. John’s Episcopal Hospital
(SJEH) in Far Rockaway
hosted a “Night for Heroes”
on Tuesday, May 18, celebrating
its employees and reflecting
on the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic.
SJEH, the only hospital on
the peninsula serving 140,000
residents, was the first hospital
to confirm a COVID-19
patient in Queens on March
7, 2020 — and was at 100 percent
capacity from March
through June 2020. The Far
Rockaway community was
one of the hardest hit in New
York during the peak of the
virus in New York state.
Before special guest host
and comedian Dion Flynn,
who has appeared on “Late
Night with Jimmy Fallon”
and the “Tonight Show” portraying
former President
Barack Obama, opened the
program, the Art-Strings Ensemble
entertained the crowd
with a potpourri of classical
and pop music.
SJEH behavioral health
tech Animashaun and his
colleagues Kobby and Promise
were grateful that the
hospital organized the event.
“I feel like this is a fantastic
tribute for those that lost
members during the whole
COVID pandemic, very heartfelt
and very sincere from the
hospital,” Animashaun said.
Kobby added, “We are
glad that COVID-19 is coming
down.”
During his opening monologue,
Flynn quipped that
Far Rockaway was a “weird
place” and didn’t look anything
like New York City.
“Can I say that? I don’t
want to make enemies here.
I was driving down here. It
was like, ‘where … where am
I?’ It takes courage to work
out here,” Flynn said.
However, Flynn quickly
adopted a more serious tone
when he addressed the hospital
staff. He acknowledged
the challenging time the employees
went through, being
overtaxed with responsibilities
while short on staff and
lacking resources.
“It’s not easy. I don’t need
to tell you that, but I want to
summarize it and bring us
all together on the same page
here tonight to know why
we’re exactly here,” Flynn
said. He joked, “It’s not for
the free cookie and the water
you’re going to get, which are
over there, by the way. If you
didn’t get yours, get yours. I
mean, look, there, there have
been budget cuts, OK. Tonight’s
money went into the
lights and to the string guys,
hit them up. OK?”
Flynn continued, “But in
spite of all of those challenges,
what makes it so difficult
to work here, all those things
that I’ve just listed, there
are a thousand more that
you know much better than
I do. You worked tirelessly
through an unprecedented,
unbelievable pandemic. Let’s
hear it for yourselves. People
lost loved ones, took time off,
barely were able to grieve,
and had to come back to work
to show up and give service,
and they did it.”
The actor recognized how
terrifying it must have been
for the healthcare workers
dealing with an unknown virus
and doing everything in
their power not to infect their
family members when they
returned home from work.
“We’re here tonight to
celebrate the courage that
you found to step into the unknown
together,” Flynn said.
The Reverend Lawrence C.
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021
Provenzano, who also serves
as the chairperson of the
board of trustees of SJEH,
expressed the board’s profound
gratitude to the staff’s
service, dedication and courage
while facing countless
hours of anguish.
The reverend thanked
them for doing more than
their job and accomplishing
the near-impossible against
impossible odds.
“There really is no way to
just say thank you to each of
you, other than to, on behalf
of the board, to rededicate
ourselves to supporting you
and encouraging you and
having your back as we continue
in the years to come
to serve this community,”
Provenzano said before leading
the crowd in prayer for
those lost in the past year.
SJEH CEO Gerard M.
Walsh said the event was
an occasion to celebrate the
strength, tenacity and resilience
of all team members.
He recalled that many
were getting ready to join the
St. Patrick’s Day Parade on
March 7, 2020, when the hospital
confirmed the first case
of COVID-19. The hospital
was prepared for disasters,
he said, but not for the “tidal
wave that was about to happen
to us on that Saturday morning,
up on the sixth floor.”
“It was hard work for
everyone here. And every
single person rolled up their
sleeves, and they took on duties
that maybe they’d never
done before, and they did
things that they had never
done before,” Walsh said.
“And people just stepped to
the plate and did what they
needed to do because we had
a job to do to take care of this
community and to take care
of each other. We became
learners and innovators over
the last year. Because of that,
and we were flexible, but because
of what we became, St
John’s Episcopal hospital
and every person that works
there, we’re better than we
were a year ago.”
State Senator Joseph P.
Addabbo, Jr. listed the words
bravery, courage, dedication
and noble traits that define
heroism.
“And none of us will be
surprised that these are the
same exact words we could
use when describing healthcare
workers, people on the
front lines, and everyone
else in St. John’s Hospital,”
he said.
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards reminded
everyone that New
York City would not be reopening
if it weren’t for the
essential workers, thanking
them for their sacrifice
during the unprecedented
COVID-19 crisis.
He also spoke about the
inequities the COVID-19 pandemic
revealed, especially in
Black and brown communities,
and said it was the government’s
responsibility to
support health care institutions
like St. John’s instead of
closing them, referring to the
state’s proposal last March
to cut the hospital’s capacity
and services drastically.
“We in government and
others at higher levels of
government can’t simply
just clap for our health care
workers. We have to defend
health care institutions like
St John’s. We should never
ever hear about the notion
or the proposal of a closure
of an institution like St
John’s,” Richards said. “We
will defend this institution if
we have to lie in the middle
of the streets. If we have the
protest at the White House,
wherever it is, we are going
to defend this institution.”
Assemblywoman Stacey
Pheffer Amato shared that
she was born at SJEH and
described the Far Rockaway
community as tough and resilient.
“You did walk out that
door every day, and you did
the best that you could do,
and you did it for me. You did
it for this entire community
and people you did not even
know. And that’s what makes
you the most incredible and
awesome people,” Pheffer
Amato said. “There’s not a
day that will go by that I will
not stop fighting for you and
this hospital.”
Councilwoman Selvena
Brooks-Powers, the daughter
of a CNA worker and sister
of a registered nurse, knows
all too well how hard SJEH’s
staff works.
“I know that the sacrifices
that the workers make here at
St. John’s are sacrifices that
quite honestly have been made
all along,” Brooks-Powers
said. “But now the rest of the
world sees how essential and
necessary St John’s is for our
community. And so tonight, I
thank you, our heroes.”
The Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic at the “Night of Heroes” celebration
and reflection for the St. John’s Episcopal Hospital staff. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
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