NATIONAL NURSES WEEK, MAY 6–12
Our heroes, now more than ever
COURIER LIFE, MAY 8-14, 2020 13
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 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 nurses
for their service, and we hope
our readers will do the same.
SCHNEPS MEDIA CELEBRATES
Nurses at Kings County Hospital during the nightly 7 pm clap for healthcare workers. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell