Heroes Helping Heroes

Every day we come to work to give our all to the patients and families. Recently the Cohen’s and LIJ teams shifted their focus of care to a fellow team member, S. No one ever expects when a Rapid Response or Code is called overhead it would be to care for a colleague/friend. On this day S, a nursing assistant at Cohen’s, worked overtime on Med 3 after his regular 8a-4p shift in the PACTC. As his shift was coming to an end, he suffered a medical emergency in the hallway between Med 3 & 3 Central. At approximately 11pm staff members heard a loud thud in the hallway between these units and they knew something terrible had happened. Running to his aid included several physicians, nurses, and nursing assistants from Med 3 and 3 Central. S was found unresponsive. A Code Blue was called, the PICU team quickly responded and helped to bridge care until the LIJ code team arrived. Together the Cohen’s and LIJ teams were able to get S stabilized and transferred to the adult MICU in LIJ. This was a heroic effort on the part of our CCMC & LIJ team members. A patient code is extremely difficult for staff and even more devastating when it’s someone you work with day in and day out and consider part of your work family. Curtis Pilgrim PES & Almondo Morgan NA left Cohens in the middle of the night to drive to Jamaica, Queens to notify S’s mom what had happened. With love and care they delivered every parent’s worst nightmare and they drove her back to LIJ so that she could be at his side in MICU. The Cohens staff support did not end that night.

Over the next 8 days his colleagues from the Hem/Onc division continued to visit him in the ICU. Our incredible chaplain, Adrian Mazur, prayed with S’s mom. Ana Diaz, MOA brought S’s mom food daily to make sure she was supported and all needs were met while she sat at his bedside. To alleviate S’s mom’s stress of getting to the hospital daily, Nerianna Cato NA, Emmanuela Gervais MOA & Curtis Pilgrim PES volunteered to drive her back and forth to the hospital every day. Debbie Hardatt a nurse in the PACTc started a collection for S and our division came together and raised funds to help provide him and his family with additional support during a very difficult time.

A week later, S was discharged from LIJ where he is recovering at home. Ongoing support continues as many checks in on him while we are eagerly awaiting his return to Cohens. We are proud to be a part of this incredible Cohens family. All team members throughout the organization went above and beyond to support and care for S and his family during a very difficult time. They all demonstrated empathy and professionalism while respecting his privacy and dignity. This team truly represents why Cohens is such a special place. It is our pleasure to recognize this team for their commitment, effort, and love.