FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 21, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
сoronavirus
QCC nursing students comfort COVID-19 patients at local nursing home
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Two Queensborough
Community College nursing
Cuomo swabbed on live TV to encourage New Yorkers to get tested for COVID-19
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Almost 80 days into the pandemic, the
tune has changed for Governor Andrew
Cuomo, who once told New Yorkers to
refrain from seeking COVID-19 testing
due to a shortage.
Now the governor says residents should
get tested, as access appears to be close to
redundancy levels.
As such, Cuomo illustrated how quickly
the test can be administered by getting
a nasal swab live during his Sunday morning
Photo courtesy of Governor’s Offi ce
press conference.
“You don’t even have to be New York
tough to take that test,” Cuomo said without
even a wince.
Displays of macho fl exing aside, Cuomo
reported that the state is in a good place
with the number of hospitalizations and
deaths as well as fi ve upstate regions now
reopening; 139 people died from COVID-
19 complications on May 16, a continued
downward trend from 195 on May 11.
According to the Cuomo administration,
over 7.1 percent of the state’s population
has been tested as per a goal set in
early March to conduct 6,000 tests per day.
Th is ballooned to 20,000 tests per day
with help from the federal government,
which turned into 40,000 tests as of May
17.
“Testing originally was used to control
the virus. Now, testing is going to be very
helpful in monitoring the virus,” Cuomo
said. “Not only do we have a large capacity
to process the tests, we also put together
a network of test sites all across the state
… We now have 700 testing sites … which
means there’s a testing site near you, so
many sites that it doesn’t fi t on a map.”
At the city level, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced Sunday morning that
20,000 people per day were being
tested through a partnership with
CityMD, which will cover the
cost for individuals without
health coverage.
But even though drivethrough
sites are able to process
15,000 tests per day, they
are currently doing less than
5,000 on average, according to
the state.
“Th e new problem is we have more
sites and more testing capacity
than we’re
using,” Cuomo
added. “Anyone
who thinks
they have
COVID
symptoms
can get tested, so it’s a tremendously
large universe of people who can be
tested.”
Th e overabundance of hospital beds
and testing capacity are “good problems”
for the state to have during the pandemic,
Cuomo asserted.
students are helping to care
for seniors at a Queens nursing
home and rehabilitation center
amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the past month, Kristen
Rodriguez and Adam Kern, both
in their 30s, have dedicated their
time to serve on the front line of
the pandemic at the Parker Jewish
Institute in New Hyde Park, where
there have been reported cases of
COVID-19-related deaths.
Prior to her academic career
at Queensborough, Rodriguez, a
resident of Whitestone, worked
as a medical administrator for
eight years at the Northwell
Health Division for Surigcal
Onocology in New Hyde Park.
Every Saturday, Rodriguez works
an eight-hour shift at the center,
where her responsibilities
include conducting vital
signs, feeding and cleaning the
patients, and helping the nurses
with other tasks.
“I feel good leaving there making
a diff erence to some people,”
said Rodriguez, who completed
her clinical placement at the
nursing home last semester. “I
put in a lady’s earring the other
day and she was so thankful. It
sounds minimal but to that lady
it’s everything. I feel like I did
something good for her whether
it’s tiny.”
For the most part, Rodriguez
said, she tries to make the residents
laugh.
“It’s just a lot. It does make
you appreciate what you have,”
Rodriguez said. “It’s sad because
they can’t go anywhere, or see
anyone and they get lonely.
When depression kicks in, that
can deteriorate it.”
Although she was quite nervous
about stepping into the
role of a caretaker at the nursing
home, Rodriguez said the experience
has been “eye-opening.”
As for her family, she said, they
were quite reluctant but decided
to let her leave home.
“Th ere are a lot of emotions,
then and now. My 12-year-old
son, my boyfriend and my parents
did not want me to go at
fi rst. Th ey said, ‘absolutely not,’
but we came to the realization
that nurses can’t pick and choose
who to help and who to avoid.
Everyone is equal and they asked
me, ‘If you’re not going to help
them, who will?”’ Rodriguez
said.
Meanwhile, Kern, of Oakland
Gardens, an experienced caregiver
for people with disabilities
in Nassau County prior to his
enrollment at Queensborough,
works with staff at Parker who
cares for residents with dementia.
Kern’s wife, who cares for
developmentally disabled people
on Long Island and studies
at the CUNY School of Law, also
had reservations.
“Th is last month, she has
personally known about 25
to 30 people who have died
— not all COVID though.
Everyone’s scared. But the education
at and preparation from
Queensborough is good,” Kern
said. “We have been trained very
well by staff and Parker, too, has
been wonderful.”
According to Kern, many
COVID-19 cases have swept
through his fl oor. Since family
members cannot always be with
their loved ones, Kern said he
tries to be family to the resident.
“Th ey’re scared and I am able
to let families know that someone
was with their loved one,
that they were not alone, that
they were comfortable and that
everything was done for them,”
said Kern, having held the hand
of patients, including a 99-yearold
woman, comforting them as
they passed on.
Although it’s been sad, Kern
said, it has been a remarkable
educational opportunity, obtaining
access that no fi rst-year nursing
student typically experiences
to learn and observe.
Michael Rosenblut, president
and CEO of Parker Jewish
Institute, said he is thankful for
the students’ participation.
“We appreciate the response
from Queensborough students
who are supporting the care
of our patients and residents,”
Rosenblut said.
According to Dr. Colleen
Ariola, senior vice president of
Patient Care Services at Parker,
the student nurses are “capable,
committed and undaunted.”
“Th ey bring their enthusiasm
to learn, support and collaborate
with our frontline health heroes
— we are so grateful for their
positive energy,” Ariola said.
Upon completion of their
Queensborough studies next
year, Kern and Rodriguez will
earn RN qualifi cations and
enroll at York College and
CUNY’s School of Professional
Studies, respectively, to complete
their Bachelor of Nursing
degrees under CUNY’s Dual
Joint Degree programs.
Photo courtesy of Queensborough Community College
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