MAY 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 47
A Letter of Thanks to the Community from St. John’s
Episcopal Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Walsh
From the start of the COVID -19 pandemic, St. John’s
has made several adjustments to ensure we would be
able to provide the best care for our patients. As per
the Governor’s mandate to increase capacity by 50%, we
added more beds by converting spaces into inpatient
units. We also obtained additional staffing, equipment, and
supplies to support the functioning of these new areas. It
was a tremendous overhaul to complete, but I am happy
to say, we did it.
Moments of crisis are a defining time. A period that forms
the opportunity of innovation and creates ways of unique
collaboration. As you know, this pandemic has been
arduous for many but the resilience of this community
continues to shine and strengthen others. You all have
inspired us, by your tremendous support during this time
and it keeps us motivated to continue the fight against this
pandemic.
As the only acute care full service hospital, serving the
Rockaways and Five Towns in southern Queens County and southwestern Nassau County, the most
inspiring part through this pandemic, was the overwhelming support we received from the community.
In this short time, we received thousands of dollars in monetary donations, thousands of individual
meals prepared to feed team members working on all three shifts and thousands of Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) donated from our community.
On behalf of St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, THANK YOU!
Thank you for cheering us on and thank you for all you have done to ensure we had all that we need. I
could not be more proud of our team members who are doing a tremendous job on the frontlines. As
we continue to get through this pandemic, let us focus on the positive aspect that has emerged. Let
us continue to be “Rockaway
Strong” and continue to support
our local businesses and look
after our neighbors. We are all
facing this pandemic together,
and it is together we will get
through it.
Again, on behalf of the St. John’s
family, thank you for all that you
have done to help motivate us,
which allows us to continue to
do our apart. We appreciate all
your efforts; we recognize your
commitment and we will cherish
the impact this support will have
on our lives forever.
—Jerry
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
