Nurses Volunteer to Help Caregivers, Serve Patients in Hardest Hit COVID-19 Areas

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 25 Cleveland Clinic nurses volunteered to help caregivers and serve patients in two of the nation’s hardest hit areas – New York and Michigan.

On April 17, 15 nurses departed Cleveland for various New York-Presbyterian Hospitals in New York City. The following week, 13 nurses arrived in Michigan, at several Henry Ford Hospital locations. The selfless acts to serve were in response to calls for help as COVID-19 was rapidly spreading throughout both states. In addition to nurses, Cleveland Clinic physicians also volunteered to serve.

Helping where help is needed

Prior to leaving for their voluntary assignments, several nurses shared their thoughts on the journey they would be embarking on. Below are some of their comments:

Sophie Shi, RN, ICU Main Campus

“I just want to do everything I can to help with this pandemic, help those that need it the most and I just really look forward to helping. It makes me feel like I’m part of something bigger, which is really important. It’s nice to know that Cleveland Clinic is able to use extra resources to help other communities and hospital systems. It makes me feel proud to be a Cleveland Clinic caregiver and I’m really happy about this opportunity.”

Brent Whitaker, Nurse Manager, Surgical ICU Main Campus

“It’s been my mantra all along that nursing is a team sport and I’m just going to go help other team members that are of the same group. My role is to be as flexible as they need me to be. I’ll fill in where possible to do whatever it is they need me to do.”

Amy Mahnke, RN, Neuro ICU Main Campus

“It’s just the right thing to do. If we can help, we should help. It’s going to sound cliché, but I feel like I have to go and help these people. I feel bad for other nurses and doctors who are getting hit so hard so if I can help alleviate them for just one day, I think that will be really special.”

Fighting on the frontlines

For roughly four weeks, Cleveland Clinic’s highly trained and very skilled nursing caregivers shared Cleveland Clinic health system’s core values with the New York-Presbyterian and Henry Ford healthcare organizations while caring for some of the sickest patients in the country and giving their fellow colleagues in New York and Michigan a much-needed break.

From their experiences, they shared their thoughts, lessons learned and more with fellow Cleveland Clinic caregivers and leaders. Below are a few remarks from some of the nurses who served:

Amy Mahnke, RN, Neuro ICU Main Campus

“I have seen many patients take their last breath without their loved ones at their bedside. Being a Cleveland Clinic nurse has helped me prepare for all of the obstacles I’ve encountered. I’m grateful we were able to be there for patients who needed our care. I’m forever proud to be a nurse. Everyone’s efforts at home have made it possible for us to support New York-Presbyterian and truly show them the Cleveland Clinic way.”

Lindsey Fascione, RN, Neuro ICU Main Campus

“One of the first things I noticed when they gave us a tour of the hospital was that I felt like I was in my home because I was able to see the patients and the types of therapies they were receiving and I felt very well prepared from Cleveland Clinic to be able to do the job that was given to me.”

Beth Tosti, RN, ICU Euclid Hospital

“I work at Euclid Hospital and Wyandotte is a mirror image of Euclid. They have the same population, they get the same type of patients, and the night shift staff is just like the staff I work with at night. We felt completely welcome and part of the team immediately.”

Danielle Fait, Assistant Nurse Manager, Neuro ICU Main Campus

“One of the most impactful moments for me was a patient who woke up for the first time in 30 days and when I said his name his eyebrows shot up. Although we didn’t speak the same language, he recognized his name and he smiled. I was just so moved by it. The resident was outside the door jumping up and down because he was so pleased that the patient finally woke up. I was the first person who elicited a response from this man who had been there more than 30 days sick with COVID.”

Alyssa Seibert, Nursing Assistant, ICU Main Campus

“Because our staffing was so good one day, one of the nurses actually got a holiday so she was able to study for her nurse practitioner final. She had been working overtime for three months, staying at a hotel away from her family so it was really nice to just be able to see how happy she was and how thankful she was for us to be there.”

Kelly Claridge, Nursing Assistant, ICU Main Campus

“I had the pleasure of being on a unit where a patient was first extubated after three weeks of being intubated. When extubated, we were all cheering and someone got out a computer and started playing ‘We are the Champions’. The patient just had this sigh of relief when the breathing tube came out and it was amazing to be a part of that.”

Hunter Flagg, RN, Surgical ICU Main Campus

“The hospital has been fantastic to us. People need help and they’ve been nothing but grateful to have us here. It really alleviates the stress of taking care of this patient population.”

Brent Whitaker, Nurse Manager, Surgical ICU Main Campus

“It’s been a very good experience. Luckily, I do think that if anything we’ve really highlighted what a special breed of nursing Cleveland Clinic produces. Every nurse out here has been well received and well respected. Our nurses have really worked into this fold quite nicely in knowing how well prepared we’ve been as a team.”

Lauren Lowery, Nursing Assistant, Neuro ICU Main Campus

“It really felt like it was a calling. We’ve all gone into a profession where we’ve chosen to go to help those in need. And, in this case, it wasn’t just the patients and their families but our fellow caregivers. It just felt like the right thing to do.”

Committed to patients, caregivers, organizations and communities

Cleveland Clinic’s core values include its four care priorities: caring for patients, caring for caregivers, caring for organization and caring for community. The voluntary acts of service by these 25+ nurses were the perfect example of our caregivers’ commitment to helping patients, caregivers, organizations and communities – even beyond Cleveland Clinic health system.

Those who volunteered to help care for patients in these communities clearly demonstrated Cleveland Clinic’s leader behaviors – from character and integrity to compassion, empathy and above-and-beyond dedication. Our caregivers’ responses to these calls for help speaks volumes to the type of professional nurse Cleveland Clinic attracts and the entire Cleveland Clinic family is incredibly proud of them.

Continuing the fight, more caregivers volunteer to serve Cleveland Clinic’s Abu Dhabi family

As Cleveland Clinic caregivers have returned from Michigan and New York, the commitment to continue to help others fight the coronavirus continues.

On May 16, 40 Cleveland Clinic caregivers from Ohio and Florida – including 28 nurses – boarded a plane for the Middle East to spend up to 6 weeks at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, addressing the urgent needs of COVID-19 patients and families.

These caregivers will be on the ground to assist as needed, sharing their experiences, expertise and best practices around treating COVID-19 patients with their colleagues in Abu Dhabi.

Thank you to all Cleveland Clinic nursing caregivers – and nurses across the globe – who continue to showcase how incredible the nursing profession is and what the Year of the Nurse and Midwife is all about.