Bridget Benitez

As a healthcare worker working on the Covid-19 floor during a pandemic, I saw and assisted
nurses and certified nurse assistants who raced against time to save as many lives as we could.
This was something I would have never imagined to encounter in all my years as a healthcare
secretary.
My parents raised me to be a strong Latina woman and instilled important values of never
disgracing a role, especially in the medical field. They taught me that no matter how big or small
the job might be, it’s always important. So that motivated me to want to create this project that
celebrates the heroes, even the jobs that might seem insignificant. I've been working at hospitals
since the age of eighteen and have met so many remarkable people throughout my healthcare
career. That is why I chose to work and help during the first wave of the Covid 19 pandemic.
For my project, Unsung Heroes of the Pandemic: Healthcare Professionals, I asked healthcare
workers to tell their stories about being on the frontline. It was not only doctors working to save
lives. More lives would have been lost without the whole team effort. . Nurses, certified nurse
assistants, respiratory therapists, phlebotomists, housekeepers, and yes, even unit secretaries,
worked together like a well-oiled machine. The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on every
living being on this planet. Currently, I am working at what is now known as the Covid-19 floor,
with an astonishing staff who I truly call my second family. Our personal experience with the
Covid-19 pandemic took an emotional and physical toll on all of us, as well as drawing us closer,
through an experience, we will never forget.
This is our story...