A FEW WOMEN
IN A VAST ARMY OF CARE AND SELF-GIVING 

          Someone said, “Save a nurse, stay home!”  We thought it a good idea to dedicate this page to the nurses, doctors, and healthcare professionals who are on the front lines of caring for Covid-19 patients.  They do so at the risks to their own health and lives. 

          It happens in every generation that men and women of uncommon dedication and courage rise to the occasion offering hope and comfort to those who suffer.  As you ponder these short biographies, we hope you are encouraged by the spirit of these women and the beauty of their souls.  Let each of us, in our own way, rise to the occasion and be a source of encouragement and strength for other suffering people.   

Amy Pacholk

Amy Pacholk is a registered nurse at Stony Brook University Hospital. She is an experienced Advanced Practice Nurse currently working with Covid-19 patients at one of the busiest hospitals in New York. Amy stated that working in the Critical Care unit with Covid-19 patients is like working in a war zone. Amy moved to a hotel in order to not bring the disease home to her family. She is just one of our heroes keeping us safe. (photo from linkedin account)

Deborah Birx

Deborah Birx is currently a member of the Presidential Covid-19 Virus Task Force and has been quite visible in recent days. She is a medical expert in the field of HIV/AIDS. She is an Ambassador at Large and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. She oversees the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief as well as all the United States Government’s involvement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

For over thirty years, Deborah has focused on HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research and global health. She has been the Director of the Division of Global HIV/AIDS at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Deborah was a Colonel in the United States Army and served at the Department of Defense as Director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. (photo from linkedin account)

Nita Patel 

Nita Patel, director of vaccine development at Novavax, has led work in both virology and antibody development. She is a research scientist with extensive experience in Drug and Vaccine development for Infectious Disease.

Nita currently leads an all female team to produce a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus. Novavax is in phase two of development with two to three phases of human trials to follow. (photo from linkedin account)

Deborah Fuller

Deborah Fuller is a vaccinologist and professor of microbiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She leads one of the labs pursuing a vaccine against coronavirus, COVID-19. 

Deborah has been working in the field since 1991 and specializes in novel DNA and RNA vaccines. DNA and RNA vaccines have never been approved for wide use. However, Deborah believes that this type of vaccine is the best chance for developing a safe vaccine quickly. One RNA vaccine for corona virus, by Moderna, is currently in clinical human trial. (photo from linkedin account)

Seema Verma

Seema Verma, head of Medicare and Medicaid, is an important part of the presidential task force on COVID-19. As head of Medicare and Medicaid, Seema helps to shape how health care is provided in the United States by having the authority to waive or modify rules and granting emergency flexibility so that health care providers can respond quickly.

Seema received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in 1993 and her Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 1996. (photo from linkedin account)

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 GRATITUDE

Thank you to the gentle spirit of those who give of themselves
Thank you to the women who ceaselessly birth life into our wounds
Gratitude to you who assure us in uncertain times
Gratitude to you who nurse the afflicted with medicine of love

Gratitude to you who are often afflicted with rejection
Gratitude to you who often feel failed when we hurt
Thank you kind and gentle women who are always there for us
Thank you dedicated women of the heart whose hearts are often broken