Page 7 - Silver Linings Issue1

“From start to finish, I knew I was in good hands!” one patient said recently at discharge.
Indeed, the good hands of Silver Hill Hospital’s resilient, dedicated staff. None of this comes as a surprise to President and Medical Director Andrew J. Gerber, MD, PhD. “The primary skill of our staff, no matter who they are, is their humanity,” he says. “Their specialty is secondary to that role in our community. That, to me, is what makes Silver Hill special.”
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FRONTLINE WORKERS
Giving to the COVID-19 Resilience Campaign
will support efforts to keep frontline medical workers and first responders mentally resilient in the face of potentially overwhelming stress resulting from the pandemic.
Please go to: SilverHillHospital.org/covid19resilience for information and to give.
Tomas Prestamo, Psych Tech
COVID-19
HEROES ON THE FRONTLINE
Our Overnight Team Feels Like a Family
The women and men who
work overnight are often the forgotten heroes in a crisis. While the rest of the world sleeps, these nurses and psych techs are administering care for patients in need.
Bernadette Tarzia has been a nurse at Silver Hill Hospital for two years and works the
7:00 pm to 7:00 am shift. That
in itself is not easy, but Bernadette also cared for the COVID-19 positive patients in isolation. And she did it without hesitation.
“As an RN you go into this profession not knowing what’s going to happen from one day to the next,” she says. “You handle every situation as it comes. I’m trained to handle this. It never crossed my mind to not do this.
Safiya Perry Simpson, RN
In fact, I almost feel as though I’m not doing enough. There’s a little bit of guilt there.”
Bernadette and the others who have cared for COVID-19 positive patients wear protective masks, gowns and gloves. The unit is stocked with extra hand sanitizer and soap.
“It’s nothing different from what we always do, we’re just more cautious,” she says. “We take care of the patient just like we always do.”
Like her fellow nurses and other frontline workers
who work during the day, Bernadette is appreciative
of her co-workers and their commitment to the mission of Silver Hill Hospital.
“I love that so many psych techs
and others volunteered to help
here (COVID-19 positive unit),”
she says. “It’s nice to know you
work with people like that. It’s 7 like a second family.”
SILVER LININGS MAGAZINE | PREMIERE 2020