The-Laker-Issue3-Fall-2020

the LAKER | 7 The transition home Jennifer left for home on Monday, June 29. Tears came as she watched the New York City skyline fade into the background. She felt she was leaving a part of herself behind, though she knew her shift had ended. She needed to get back home to her sons and baby granddaughter. “I remember coming up from Cohocton and seeing the sign that says ‘Welcome to Naples.’ I have seen that sign a thousand times and it had such a different meaning to me.” She found her family waiting in her driveway. “I put my mask on and grabbed ahold of my kids and cried,” she said. “That’s when it all sank in.” The transition from chaos hasn’t been easy. “By the time I got home I was angry. I was exhausted. I was emotional. It was easy for me to snap at somebody,” she said. Keeping connected with the healthcare workers she shared the front lines with has helped. Whenever possible, Jennifer takes part in an initiative started in New Jersey to support healthcare workers who endured the disease. Called “Check you, check two,” it asks participants to take a moment each day to consider their own mental health and then check up on two others. Jennifer also keeps a sense of connection tied around her ankle: A thin cord with a tiny stethoscope charm, gifted to her by a fellow travel nurse from Memphis. What has helped most, though, is getting back to work. In early September, Jennifer and Hospeace board members were making plans to reopen. The home closed over the summer, a few weeks after Jennifer’s departure. The challenge has been recruiting volunteers and coming up with creative ways to raise funds without in-person events. Jennifer hoped to see the home reopen in the early fall. “I can’t wait to get back to doing what I love,” she said. If given the choice, would she do it all over again? “Absolutely,” she said. “In nursing school, you are taught that you go where you’re needed. We’re all in this together.” —Jessica Youngman THANKS TO OUR ‘EXTRAORDINARY INDIVIDUALS’ In one of his daily updates in late March, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised the “extraordinary individuals” – nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers – for their work on the front lines. Among them are thousands of FLCC and CCFL alumni. We salute you. From left to right in the back row are Newark-Wayne Community Hospital staffers: Julie Cowley ’12, Jenna Sacco, Jeremy Rohack ’02, ’12, Kyla Durso ’18, Brittany Wiley and Matt Oberdorf. Front row: Rebecca Huber ’11, ’15, Rocio Andrade, Melyssa Halsey ’99 and Ashley Arnold ’16. Clifton Springs Hospital and Clinic staff, left to right: Kim Whitbeck-Drake ’12, Kerri DeJonge ’01 and Calie Northrop ’11. Also at Clifton Springs, Cathy Hackett ’08, left, with fellow FLCC nursing alumna Cindy Dean ’11. How you can support FLCC nurses Training exceptional nurses requires providing up-to-date lab equipment. You can support the FLCC nursing program by giving to the Plumb Nursing Equipment Fund. Visit give.flcc.edu , and click on “Give to FLCC.” Use the drop-down menu to choose where your donation will go.

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