Maureen J Merges
December 2022
Maureen J
Merges
,
RN, MSN, ANP, CIC
Nursing
James J. Peters VAMC
Bronx
,
NY
United States
Since late winter 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York, Maureen Merges has been on the front lines leading the Infection Control Task Force responding to the crisis.
Maureen J. Merges, RN, MSN, ANP, CIC is the Infection Control Nurse at James J. Peters VA which is located in the heart of New York City and cares for a large vulnerable population of veterans. The area has the highest incidence of diabetes mellitus in the nation as well as other socioeconomic and medical co-morbidities. The area was the epicenter of the Spring Surge of Covid-19 in the U.S.A. Since late winter 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York, Maureen Merges has been on the front lines leading the Infection Control Task Force responding to the crisis.
In early March 2020, the hospital was confronted by a sudden surge of patients. Nationally resources including testing for the virus, supplies, and a response team were a challenge. The hospital experienced an immediate surge in patients positive for the virus. Many were critically ill requiring intensive care support on ventilators multiple IV drips and resources. By April, New York City experienced the highest rate of Covid-19 infections and deaths as the epicenter of the global pandemic. Ms. Merges immediately went into action. She created Hot Triage for patients and staff; set up testing and triage; created negative pressure rooms in med-surg inpatient units.
She worked on the front lines to teach and role model PPE use; she advocated for needed supplies and resources. She was constantly rounding to all areas of the hospital making adjustments to PPE use and requirements listening to staff and working to make sure the environment was safe for staff and patients.
When staff testing became a challenge Maureen personally reviewed and communicated all testing results to staff and providers into the late hours of the night – 7 days a week. She was the only person in the hospital doing contact tracing for staff with COVID. Since the winter of 2020 to the most recent 7C COVID outbreak in Oct 2022 and CLC COVID outbreak in Oct 2022, she tracked down every employee with positive COVID had an action plan in place and follow through with the action plan and updated all involved parties with daily email.
In addition to working with the hospital’s interprofessional staff, Ms. Merges worked with emergency management staff and temporary staff that came from around the country to assist during the crisis in 2020. She works 7 days weekday and night tirelessly and diligently to ensure a safe workplace for all. Ms. Merges puts 100% into her work providing a safe workplace for JJP from infection control point of view. Her dedication and diligence and her passion for infection control drive her to work 7 days a week, especially during all the COVID outbreaks in our VA. I believe with Maureen; we avoided a lot of COVID transmissions in our facility. With Maureen, we are in a much safer work environment. Thank you, Maureen!!
In early March 2020, the hospital was confronted by a sudden surge of patients. Nationally resources including testing for the virus, supplies, and a response team were a challenge. The hospital experienced an immediate surge in patients positive for the virus. Many were critically ill requiring intensive care support on ventilators multiple IV drips and resources. By April, New York City experienced the highest rate of Covid-19 infections and deaths as the epicenter of the global pandemic. Ms. Merges immediately went into action. She created Hot Triage for patients and staff; set up testing and triage; created negative pressure rooms in med-surg inpatient units.
She worked on the front lines to teach and role model PPE use; she advocated for needed supplies and resources. She was constantly rounding to all areas of the hospital making adjustments to PPE use and requirements listening to staff and working to make sure the environment was safe for staff and patients.
When staff testing became a challenge Maureen personally reviewed and communicated all testing results to staff and providers into the late hours of the night – 7 days a week. She was the only person in the hospital doing contact tracing for staff with COVID. Since the winter of 2020 to the most recent 7C COVID outbreak in Oct 2022 and CLC COVID outbreak in Oct 2022, she tracked down every employee with positive COVID had an action plan in place and follow through with the action plan and updated all involved parties with daily email.
In addition to working with the hospital’s interprofessional staff, Ms. Merges worked with emergency management staff and temporary staff that came from around the country to assist during the crisis in 2020. She works 7 days weekday and night tirelessly and diligently to ensure a safe workplace for all. Ms. Merges puts 100% into her work providing a safe workplace for JJP from infection control point of view. Her dedication and diligence and her passion for infection control drive her to work 7 days a week, especially during all the COVID outbreaks in our VA. I believe with Maureen; we avoided a lot of COVID transmissions in our facility. With Maureen, we are in a much safer work environment. Thank you, Maureen!!