{"id":211585,"date":"2020-05-01T15:54:29","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T19:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=211585"},"modified":"2020-05-07T12:49:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T16:49:13","slug":"arms-open-wide-for-nurses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2020\/05\/01\/arms-open-wide-for-nurses\/","title":{"rendered":"Arms Open Wide for Nurses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Evonna Banko didn\u2019t expect to be on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak. A school nurse in Paterson, she was finishing her final classes in the RN to BSN program at Montclair State, the end of a 20-year journey as an adult learner who returned to school, first to learn English when she moved to the United States from Poland, then earning professional degrees as she advanced in a career she loves.<\/p>\n

But with schools closed and her inbox full of emails pleading for volunteers to help, Banko answered a call to assist at one of the state\u2019s drive-through COVID-19 testing centers and has since signed on to work at a long-term residential care facility in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have to be out there,\u201d she says. \u201cI have to be helping. There are not enough hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banko is just one of the Montclair State nursing students making a difference in a profession where long hours, limited personal gear and sickness has taken its toll. \u201cIt\u2019s a horrible situation,\u201d Banko admits.<\/p>\n

The Montclair State community has risen to take care of the nurses and other health-care workers and first responders most needed to confront the pandemic, offering wellness <\/a>resources<\/a>, reminding the public to social distance, providing protective masks<\/a> and shields<\/a> \u2013 and hugs.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Evonna
Evonna Banko, RN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cThese are unprecedented times, and I\u2019m seeing people rise to their best selves. We are all adjusting, proactive and supporting one another,\u201d says School of Nursing Dean Janice Smolowitz.<\/p>\n

#GiveANurseAHug<\/h2>\n

\u201cThis pandemic right now is affecting everyone in some capacity,\u201d observes Amanda Steinberg, a graduate student who will earn her master\u2019s in Public and Organizational Relations this May.<\/p>\n

Steinberg has helped launch a social media campaign called #GiveANurseAHug for allnurses.com, a career support and news site. The goal is to flood Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok with millions of virtual hugs and tags for nurses loved and admired by May 12, the end of National Nurses Week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a good way for nurses to de-stress from everything they\u2019re dealing with and to see on social media some comfort and positivity,\u201d Steinberg says. \u201cWhether you know someone who is a doctor or a nurse or someone in your community who is dealing with a loved one being sick, that’s the whole point of this campaign, to take a second of your day to spread love to nurses and other health-care professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Montclair State\u2019s Nurses<\/h2>\n

Shannon Leahy, another of the RN to BSN students juggling work, school and home, has an added pressure at work at a New Jersey children\u2019s hospital. Leahy is expecting a baby later this spring. \u201cThis is definitely something I\u2019m going to tell my child \u2013 I was pregnant with you during the coronavirus crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leahy says her hospital administration is doing the best it can to protect nurses. \u201cBut this has rocked my world. There are no standards, no policy, everything you thought you knew you can\u2019t go by any longer. It\u2019s scary,\u201d she says. \u201cYou do the best to protect yourself and help your patients.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Amanda
Amanda Steinberg and her father, Michael Steinberg, a radiologist, post to #GiveANurseAHug.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Banko adds that her patients thank her for coming to work, thank her for being there. \u201cIt\u2019s broken my heart so many times.\u201d And while she understands the risks and that her family worries about her, she adds, \u201cI couldn\u2019t just stay home.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Shannon
Shannon Leahy, RN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
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Flattening the Curve<\/h2>\n

Not everyone who wants to be on the front lines has been able to do so. \u201cI am restless to help,\u201d says Nadia Shaikh \u201913, a medical student who graduated from Montclair State with a degree in Biology. She\u2019s been sidelined from patient care to conserve personal protective gear for certified health providers.<\/p>\n

Shaikh has redirected her disappointment with action, including volunteering with her community and following the stay-at-home orders.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cTaking the proper preventative measures of social distancing, staying home, only going out for essentials and wearing a face mask in public, people think that’s inaction,\u201d Shaikh says, \u201cbut that in itself is an actionable item of trying to safeguard others.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cSocial distancing can be very isolating,\u201d notes Diana Cabezas, a doctoral candidate in Family Science and Human Development. Cabezas provides maternal support and has been working on new ways to provide care in areas of North Jersey hard hit by the coronavirus. Virtual support groups offered in both English and Spanish four times a week address social isolation for new mothers and Zoom sessions for women preparing for birth.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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\"Diana
Diana Cabezas, Perinatal Mental Health Coordinator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cSeeing how this pandemic impacts families and communities, it is important to find support, ways to cope and take safety precautions,\u201d Cabezas says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also necessary to view the health disparities through an intersectional lens to continue to advocate for communities during this COVID-19 pandemic. There is no doubt that the effects of the coronavirus will be experienced both now and later in our communities, but we will continue to push forward. Though there may be barriers, there is unity in working together to make a difference in this challenging time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crisis Counseling for First Responders<\/h2>\n

\u201cMontclair State\u2019s students have been remarkable,\u201d says Smolowitz. \u201cThey are working nights, days, various shifts and extended hours, caring for their families, committed to their class work, and still managing to check in with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students professionally responding<\/a> to the COVID-19 crisis often share their experiences, meeting online for class and support, adds Professor Amanda Birnbaum, chairperson of the Department of Public Health.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome work in health departments, hospitals, pharmacies, working long days without breaks, seeing coworkers become sick. Some have children who are now at home trying distance learning. Many live with family members who are health-care providers,\u201d Birnbaum says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was incredibly powerful to hear their stories, some working on the front lines, some working from their homes, several of them who are international students talking about how they see the virus and response developing in their home countries and feeling deeply concerned,\u201d Birnbaum says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt so overwhelmed. I had to stay still and quiet for some time, just to process and unpack the intensity and weight of what I had just heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel Sugerman \u201915 MA, a doctoral candidate and licensed professional counselor, shares concerns for the mental health of the health-care professionals. \u201cThey are being asked to take care of others while also managing their own intense emotional responses to the crisis,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n