CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Four local health care workers are going to the Super Bowl thanks to the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears and Advocate Aurora Health announced Sunday that they have selected four Chicago-area vaccinated health care heroes to send to Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay.
The Advocate Aurora Health workers are being rewarded for their efforts during the pandemic.
“Our frontline team members provided healing and hope as they worked through the pandemic to keep their communities safe and healthy. Now they’re leading the way again, showing that getting the COVID-19 vaccine is our way out of the pandemic and back to the activities we love,” Advocate Aurora Health Chief Marketing Officer Kelly Jo Golson said in a statement. “This once-in-a-lifetime experience is yet another example of how our partnership with the Bears helps us give back to those who’ve given so much, while promoting the importance of public health best practices like vaccination.”
Former Bears cornerback Peanut Tillman surprised the four staff members with the news via video chat, which the hospital system shared on its Facebook page.
The four staff members awarded the free tickets include Shawndra Ferrell, a home health nurse with Advocate Trinity Hospital; Carl Paige, facility operations at Advocate Trinity Hospital; and Alicja and Jacob Salman, hospitalists at various Advocate Aurora locations.
As a palliative care home health nurse, Ferrell’s focus is optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious illnesses. Following her second dose of the vaccine, she said, “I got mine to protect my family, to protect myself and to protect your loved ones in my care.”
Paige has been a maintenance mechanic at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago for over 15 years. Since the pandemic began, Advocate said he has gone the extra mile to cover for quarantined co-workers and help maintain a clean environment. He recently was vaccinated to help keep the hospital a safe space for patients and his fellow team members who care for them.
Alicja and Jacob Salman are married and have been on the front lines since the beginning of the pandemic. Between the two of them, they have treated over 1,000 COVID-19 patients. Recently, the couple got their vaccine together. They agree that, “This is the solution, this is the way out of the pandemic.”
Select health care workers from around the country were invited by NFL Clubs to take part in various Super Bowl LV festivities at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 7.
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Advocate said health and safety precautions such as increased physical distancing, face coverings, hand hygiene stations, first aid areas, and directional signage will be in place at Super Bowl LV to create a safe environment for all individuals in attendance. All activities during Super Bowl week, including gameday, will be conducted in accordance with CDC and local health guidelines.