“I’d been watching social media and seeing former colleagues and classmates who were working in New York City. [They were] very, very, burnt out and tired. I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to go and help them.” – Caitlin Doane

In the spring, when New York City was the U.S. epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, we watched with increasing concern as hospitals became overwhelmed, nurses and doctors worked long shifts for days on end, and PPE was rationed.

Reports from nurses working under these conditions were often horrifying. (Read one nurse’s story from those early weeks here: https://ajnoffthecharts.com/deserted-note-from-a-young-icu-nurse-as-covid-19-pandemic-intensifies-in-u-s/)

Nurses understood.

Nurses from around the country understood far better than the general public just how dire the situation was in New York City hospitals. Some of them traveled here to help. AJN had the opportunity to sit down (virtually) with two of these nurses after their return home, and their stories are featured in the August Profiles column.

Caitlin Doane, an ED nurse from Ithaca, New York, who comes from a family of first responders, joined a medical mission organized by her hospital to travel downstate to hospitals in the city. Brent Whitaker, a cardiovascular ICU nurse manager, traveled to New York City from Cleveland along with 14 other nurses and 10 physicians.

As a mom of two teenagers, Doane developed a special connection with some of her teenage patients. She “took on some of the ‘mom’ role” for these seriously ill young people while visitors were not allowed in the hospital.

The same type of patient, bed after bed.

Whitaker recalled the strange experience of seeing “the same type of patient bed after bed after bed—intubated and sedated.”

He and his seasoned Cleveland teammates dove into the work. Whitaker describes their attitude as “Just give me some work to do; I’ll be able to handle it.”

You can also listen to the podcasts of our interviews with Doane and Whitaker here.