The public perception of police officers and firefighters changed after Sept. 11, 2001, when so many lost their lives trying to save others. They were deemed heroes, and there was a marked increase in new recruits for jobs as first responders.
Many believe that the coronavirus pandemic may have changed the image of health care workers. Communities on the North Shore and island-wide have been expressing their gratitude for these workers, posting signs of thanks and delivering food, letters and cards. Medical workers — whether busy in hospitals or hometown doctors’ offices — are being described as heroes for their dedication to saving lives, often at risk to their own.
But Dr. Bradley Sherman, chairman of the Department of Medicine at Glen Cove Hospital, says he simply is doing what he has always done.
“Whenever there’s a crisis, I respond, be it a hurricane, 9/11 or Covid-19,” Sherman said. “That’s my calling, so I don’t know about being a hero. I consider myself lucky to have a job that gives me the gratification this does while helping people. The fact that people are recognizing us as being heroic is really nice.”
Citizens now seem to recognize that the work of medical personnel goes above and beyond the ordinary, Sherman said.
Registered Nurse Aimee LoMonaco is the director of patient care services for critical care at GCH. She oversees the front-line nurses and nursing support staff in the intensive care, medical surgical and cardiac units. LoMonaco, who has 20 years of experience as an ICU nurse, commutes an hour and a half each day from her home in Hampton Bays. She said she doesn’t mind, because she loves working at GCH.
Her staff’s workload has increased dramatically during the pandemic, LoMonaco said. A nurse routinely handles four to six patients in the ICU. Now each has 16 to 18. Initially, she said, some of the nurses were hesitant and anxious about caring for patients with Covid-19, but that has changed.
“Now the majority of our patients are Covid positive,” LoMonaco said. “I have not heard that anyone turned away from an assignment or refused to care for a patient. The nurses understand that these are really sick patients and that this is what we do. We are like a firefighter who runs into a burning building.”
The staff at GCH had the needed protective equipment from the initial outbreak of the coronavirus, which LoMonaco attributes to the professionalism of Northwell Health, the hospital’s provider. And there was a realization at the beginning that more nurses would be needed. They were brought in from other Northwell hospitals as well as “travel nurses” from other states.
All of the health care providers at GCH are going the extra mile, LoMonaco said, including herself. “We have no shortage of nurses but last week there was an opening on the night shift,” she said. “I worked it. Leaders do work with the staff.”
What is most challenging for LoMonaco is her own anxiety about her staff. “I go home at night and put my head on my pillow and worry about how my frontline staff is doing,” she said. “Every day is a new day with this virus. One day we can take someone off of a ventilator and the next day have several loses.”
And some of the nurses have lost people they love. Even though LoMonaco hasn’t, she is experiencing her own anguish. “My background was always critical care so I’ve been prepared for a mass casualty,” she said. “But to this extent, something that lasts this long? No.”
Married with two sons, ages 13, and 8, she said her family has gotten used to what she refers to as “the new norm.” When she comes home she immediately heads for the shower and washes her clothing. When the pandemic began she and her husband Chris decided that she would go to a hotel if it was needed. But that has not happened yet. LoMonaco said it is more important that her family to see her so they know she is well.
“My husband and I talk to my sons a lot about what is going on,” she said. “I don’t keep the news away from them and keep the car radio on. I want them to understand the importance of social distancing, I want them to have insight to what I do and tell them how I stay safe.”
Even after all that has happened during Covid-19 LoMonaco said she continues to love her job. The science of being a nurse appeals to her, the technical part, she said. “I love doing rounds with the team and cracking the puzzle about the patient,” she explained. “I love the art of it — comforting patients and their families, getting them through what they are going through.”
She is not worried about the future and believes that epidemiologists will “crack the code” on the coronavirus. And that the profession of nursing will change.
“Our ability to know our worth and understand what we do is an important component in health care,” she said. “Our seat at the table and impact we have on care has now changed. There is pride as a group in looking at what we have done.”
Sherman said he agrees with the elevation of the nursing profession. He compared it to parent’s realization of how hard it is to be a teacher, as they struggle to home school their children. “It’s the same with doctors and nurses,” he said. “I hope more people will want to go into health care for the right reason — to help people.”
LoMonaco said nursing will continue to get stronger. “What social media is showing – images of frontline workers calling us heroes. We’ve never thought of ourselves this way,” she said. “We need to recognizes this in ourselves and have pride as a group.”
