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Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis hit New York, Mercy Professor Sherrye Samuels, clinical coordinator of nursing for medical-surgical, has been on the front lines, working in the Emergency Department at Metropolitan Hospital in New York City.

Of critical concern is the lack of supplies—protective masks, gowns, gloves and shields that help prevent sick patients from infecting the nurses and doctors who are treating them. When the crisis was still unfolding in China, Samuels asked relatives to purchase painter’s jumpsuits at their local big box stores. Now she and her team are using these reusable jumpsuits that cover them from neck to toes and can be easily disinfected with antiseptic wipes. “Help is coming, but for now we have to be creative,” she said.

Samuels often thinks about her nursing students. “I always tell them, ‘Don’t doubt your ability. Think outside the box.’” With so many colleagues getting sick with the virus, her workload has doubled. Like many other medical workers in New York, now identified as the epicenter of the pandemic, she must beware of burnout. “Nurses, especially young nurses, never want to take a break when so many are sick. But we have to pace ourselves,” she said. “All we have is each other right now.”

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