The two teams of Northwell Health nurses that assisted Western New York hospitals in need with the recent rise in hospitalization numbers due to COVID-19 are set to return home in time for Christmas this weekend.
The 16 nurses and additional support staff that were dispatched on Dec. 11 and split between Erie County Medical Center and the University of Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital will work their final shifts on Wednesday before returning home to their families.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic back in early 2020, Northwell Health was hit hard by the virus, which led to a call for help from the healthcare community. It was the University of Rochester that was one of the first medical organizations to answer the call, sending staffers Downstate to help in the fight.
Several months later, Northwell Health was more than gracious to help return the favor to Rochester, as well as Buffalo.
"You can't underestimate the power and the value that this has not only for the receiving organization - in terms of staff morale and the ability to care for our patients in the way we know how and the we need to, in terms of having safe staffing levels - but also in the sending facility," said. Northwell Health Executive Vice President, Joe Moscola. "This gives us great pride, certainly in this example, to return the favor. ... After our surge had passed, we were very anxious to return that favor."
"We are extremely grateful for our collaboration with Northwell and for the help of the nurses that came to the University of Rochester," said chief nursing executive for the University of Rochester Medical Center, Karen Keady. "We never expected to have you all return the favor, and it really brought a lot of positivity and good spirits throughout our organization to know you were willing to send people to help us when we were also in need."
In Buffalo, COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations started to take a sharp increase in early November, which caused some stressful moments for staff several hospitals. At ECMC, the assistance they got from Northwell went a long way to lifting the spirits of the workers.
"The words of 'kind' and 'compassion' don't even really touch the emotion in which the surge occurs, in which we are responding to it," said Senior Vice President of Nursing at ECMC, Karen Ziemianski. "We were able to share clinical knowledge and learn from each other, and that's something we will hold dear to our hearts. We will always remember their phenomenal dedication to coming to us."
Northwell nurse Roody Zamor was one of the nurses that was dispatched to ECMC to help the staff in Buffalo treat and care for those who were dealing with COVID-19. She says her time in Buffalo has been amazing, and the staff was able to make her transition seamless.
"We always had someone available to help us, whether it was protocols, policy. That staff has really helped us transition and able to make our stay really comfortable," Zamor said. "The patients also are super appreciative, and that made this day that much more heart-felt, because we know we're here to help a community and everyone was welcoming. We've met so many different people, we shared clinical knowledge, and this experience has thus far been very great. I'm happy I took this experience."
"We're all in the healthcare business. To the extent of which we can help each other, the better," said President and CEO of Northwell Health, Michael Dowling, thanking the nurses who volunteered their time to help out in Buffalo and Rochester. "We all learn from the experiences. Our people learn when they go someplace else, all the people learn by having them there, and we share. We've developed relationships with a lot of entities around the country, and we've agreed that if they're in trouble, we help them. If we're in trouble, they help us. That's what we've got to be doing, especially in circumstances like this."
While the nurses that donated their time to help out in Buffalo and Rochester are happy to get the chance to go home and celebrate Christmas with their families, they acknowledge they will miss the experiences they've shared with the staff and patients of their hospitals.
"It has been unique, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to have been here and shared the experience with my colleagues and the staff here," said Northwell nurse Brendan McDermott.
