WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 14, 2021 7
care workers, our People of the Year
cost 3,000 lives, tens of thousands
of others were saved through such
heroism.
The COVID-19 pandemic wrought
incomprehensible devastation on
our city during the first wave. Now,
PEOPLE OF THE YEAR
amid the second wave, the frontline
health care workers find themselves
sacrificing themselves once more
to save lives as more patients enter
their hospitals, clinics and offices.
They keep running into danger
as the rest of us socially distance,
mask up and look to keep away
from it. That is the very definition
of heroism.
In the days of spring, New Yorkers
began holding a public salute
at 7 p.m. each night to thank these
special people for stepping up in
our defense. It was a small gesture
of gratitude from a grateful city that
will forever be in their debt.
So, too, is this honor from all of us
to all of them.
The struggle against COVID-19 is
far from over, and the new vaccine
offers hope that the end is finally in
sight. But we can find some comfort
knowing that between now and the
end of the crisis — and long after
the pandemic is but a painful memory
— these heroic men and women
stepped up to do their job, care for
the sick, comfort the dying and heal
this city.
We applaud and thank all of our
frontline health care workers for
the sacrifices they’ve made. And if
you’re looking for the best way to
honor them, there is but one answer:
stay safe.
Mask up. Keep socially distant.
Get the vaccine when it is available
to you.
Let’s do all that we can to thank
and protect our health care heroes
— because they answer the call.
GatewayJFK executive director Scott Grimm-Lyon (r.) joins frontline workers at Jamaica Hospital after delivering
hundreds of meals. Courtesy of GatewayJFK
Staff at Wyckoff Hospital “worked as hard and as much as they can to
try to save the lives of all the infected patients,” said Dr. Gustavo Del
Toro, executive vice president and chief medical offi cer of the hospital.
Photo by Evelyn Chassagne
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Mayor Bill de Blasio
applaud Elmhurst Hospital health care workers.
Photo courtesy of Queens Borough President’s offi ce
/WWW.QNS.COM
