Nassau County healthcare employees have been honored by the communities they serve in the form of donations, cheering from first responders, and personal testimonies from the people whose lives they have impacted.
“We know all the hospital staff has been putting up a good fight unprecedented in the number of calls and people coming through,” Great Neck Alert Fire Chief James Neubert said. “To be there to support them was only a small thing for us to do to support them and our efforts.”
Neubert’s Alert crew joined hundreds of Nassau County first responders to salute heroes from the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic at North Shore University Hospital last week.
After working a 12-hour day helping the more than 600 COVID-19 positive patients being treated at the facility, medical staff were greeted by firefighters and police officers, who offered love and respect with a clap-out for the Northwell Health employees.
“It’s really important for the community to recognize all the healthcare professionals who have gone above and beyond,” Port Washington Fire Department Capt. Joseph LoRe said. “It was important for our entire department to recognize everyone. It is important all those folks feel supported.”
Fire trucks hoisted the American flag to form an arch under which the medical staff walked as they left and/or entered the hospital.
Among those in attendance were representatives from Albertson Fire Co., Great Neck Vigilant Fire Co., Great Neck Alert Fire Co., Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department, Nassau County Police Department, Port Washington Fire Department, Roslyn Rescue, and Williston Park Fire Department.
North Shore University Hospital’s executive director, Jon Sendach, said the employees and staff were “overwhelmed” by the support first responders from throughout the North Shore displayed.
“It was incredible to see everyone who continues to help others throughout this pandemic come together and show their support for our employees,” Sendach said. “We know our staff, and everyone throughout Northwell are some of the best in the area. It was just great to see their efforts recognized.”
Northwell Health spokesman Terry Lynam said the support from Long Island communities has been one of the driving forces that inspire healthcare employees to work 12-hour shifts.
“The outpouring of support that people have shown for everyone working on the front lines of this pandemic has been incredible,” Lynam said. “From donations of food, masks, resources, and just words of encouragement… everything has gone a long way in the eyes of our employees.”
Fountain of Kindness, a Great Neck-based non-profit organization has donated food and personal protective equipment to first responders.
The group’s founder, Melody Aziz, said volunteers have donated more than 1,000 protective masks to hospitals throughout Long Island and several boroughs of New York City, along with some treats to motivate staffers and know the community is supporting them.
“We’ve donated cakes, full meals, and other supplies to hospitals to show employees how much their work means to the community,” Aziz said.
Aziz said donations of meals and groceries have been made to families throughout the North Shore who are experiencing financial troubles.
“So many people have been laid off from work or furloughed throughout this pandemic,” Aziz said. “These people may not have the finances right now to support their families even on the most basic level. We’re doing whatever we can to provide them with some relief.”
Aziz said the donations are being distributed in a safe manner and volunteers have not experienced any challenges in the process.
Denise Heckelman, a Mineola resident and teacher at St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows, also joined in on the donations for healthcare employees, with the help of her “partners in crime,” as she said.
Heckelman organized a community event called Friends Who Give in 2016 to provide aid to local families in need of financial support. One of the event’s volunteers, Lea Hennelly, put her Venmo account online for others to virtually donate and ended up receiving $3,500 in donations, according to Heckelman.
Those donations were used to deliver snacks to NYU-Winthrop in Mineola, Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park and North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Heckelman said.
“One of our friends, Jen [Marsella], is a front line worker at NYU-Winthrop and is really our inspiration here,” Heckelman said. “It felt great to make the donations. It shows that there are good people in this world. Everyone who donated any amount of money helped our cause.”
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said school districts in the area such as the Great Neck Public Schools District and the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District have donated personal protective equipment to first responders.
According to a representative from the Great Neck Public Schools District, the county’s police department contacted the school district March 18 to request the use of a district-owned disinfecting machine to sanitize their ambulances and facilities.
This type of machine is used by the school district’s buildings and grounds staff to sanitize large school spaces and district-owned school buses. The school district loaned one disinfecting machine to the Nassau County Police Department that same day, a school representative said.
“Police officers and first responders are our partners in school safety, and I’m glad our district was able to reciprocate by loaning a disinfecting machine to the Nassau County Police Department,” Great Neck Superintendent Teresa Prendergast said. “We’re all in this together.”
County officials said they received 10,000 protective masks to donate to hospitals and first responders. The equipment, officials said, will be donated through the county’s office of emergency management.
County officials continue to encourage residents to donate equipment such as unopened N95 surgical masks, goggles and face shields, unopened nitrile gloves that have not expired, disposable paper or plastic medical gowns, shoe covers, no-touch thermometers, thermometer probe covers, HEPA filters for ventilators and anesthesia machines, antibacterial wipes, and hand sanitizer.
Last Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered flags throughout the state to be flown at half-mast to honor the lives that have been taken as a result of the coronavirus. Flags throughout the state have remained at half-mast ever since.
“In honor of those we have lost to the virus, I am directing all flags to be flown at half-mast,” Cuomo said. “And I continue to urge all New Yorkers to be responsible, adhere to all social distancing protocols and remember the life you are risking may not be your own.”
