Page 5 - Silver Linings Issue1

Some of our amazing team include (from left to right) front row: Brent Penque and Mia Handler. Left to right back row: Scott Baroody, Travis Maas, Orhan Sestovic, Destiny Sammut, Katherine Moses, Capucine Lyons, Sue Barnum, Nelly Velez, Neena Zezima.
Sarah Bennetta, RN
They have an inherent desire to help other people that not even a global pandemic can suppress. They also lean on each other when times get tough and are thankful for the camaraderie of their co-workers.
Talk to the nurses, social workers, doctors and anyone else who is reporting to Silver Hill Hospital every day during the COVID-19 crisis to directly or indirectly help patients, and those two themes will likely come up.
“I mean, this is my job. I chose to be
in health care because I want to care for people who need help. Nothing is going to stop that,” Kassie Progano,
a psychiatric technician at Silver Hill, says. “Everyone has done a great job of being there for each other.”
Admissions Nurse Katherine Moses adds: “I’m grateful that I have my health and can be here to help other people. This is a very supportive environment where I have great co-workers and I look forward to coming to work
to see them.”
The COVID-19 crisis has
shut down
the nation and caused concern around the globe. The best way
to beat
the virus, officials say, is to remain home
and avoid contact with
other people. That’s not an option for Silver Hill’s frontline workers. Mental illness and addiction do not take a break during times of crisis. In fact, heightened anxiety and uncertainty can create an even greater need for Silver Hill’s services.
“People need help regardless, good times or bad times, pandemic or no pandemic,” says Brent Faherty, a floor nurse who has worked at Silver Hill for seven years. “People still need our help and we have to be here to do that. It’s my job to help people.”
Instead of staying home, Silver Hill’s dedicated workers continue to do amazing, transformative work by embracing, rather than running from, these challenges and the inherent potential threats. Whether they are anxious or stoic, these workers view it as their calling, not their job, to help those in need.
“Afraid to work? No. This is what we signed up for — to care for patients.
We do what we have to do,” Nelly Velez, Admissions Receptionist, says.
“It’s not easy. There are times
I’ve been overwhelmed
but when you come to work and your co- worker asks
if you’re OK and you
say: ‘Yeah,
I’m OK.’
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SILVER LININGS MAGAZINE | PREMIERE 2020