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On the
COVID-19
Frontlines
Written by: Anne Marie Van Hoven, M.D., ‘91 Edited by: Peggy McGlone, ‘83 My younger sister, Anne Marie Van Hoven, is one of those rare individuals who makes everything look easy, fun, possible. She has a demanding job in medicine and is raising five children – including twins and teens! – with her amazing husband, Bruce, and yet she volunteered – volunteered! – to care for Covid-19 patients when the virus hit her hospital. She brings sunshine, laughter and her full attention to every interaction, whether it’s in her family room or the examining room. She shares her big heart and joyful spirit constantly and enthusiastically. I’d boast that I’m her biggest fan, but I think Bruce, her kids and our parents might fight me for it. One thing we all agree on, though, is that she makes our lives happier. Peggy McGlone, ‘83
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
The email that came to my inbox on a weekday in March 2020 read something like this: “The volume of patients with COVID 19 has become too great for our hospital medicine providers. The Department of Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center is asking for volunteers to take care of COVID 19 patients on the general medicine floors and ICUs. PPE training and equipment will be provided. We realize this is a tremendous request and we thank you in advance for your service.” I had already volunteered two days earlier along with a fellow Endocrinologist. Of all specialties, Endocrinology is closest to Primary Care in the sense of caring for the whole person. Aside from Infectious Disease, we were probably set up the best to do this. That night I went home and dug out my St. luke medal from my jewelry box. St. luke, the Gospel writer, is the patron saint of physicians. My friend from
college had given me the medal when I graduated medical school and I wore it every day of my residency at Bellevue Hospital in NYC. I was wearing it on 9/11 when I was in the CCU awaiting patients that never arrived. I reached for it again at the second impossible circumstance of my career, along with a new pair of starchy scrubs, my old residency clogs, 2 masks, a face shield, a gown, gloves and more hand sanitizer than I thought existed. “let’s go,” I thought to myself. These people need me. After I graduated from St E’s in 1991, I went to Seton Hall University and then Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. I did my Internal Medicine residency at NYU and my fellowship in Endocrinology at Robert Wood Johnson. I worked for 14 years at St Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick and came to Hackensack about 3 years ago to be part of the new Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.
I am board certified in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, I see inpatients and outpatients in Endocrinology, and I am the clerkship director for Internal Medicine for the Medical School. I like to think I bring the values and dedication of the Sisters of Charity with me to work in caring for patients every day but even Sr. Patricia Mary McMullen, our principal, could not have prepared me for this. I will admit it was very scary at first. I did not know if the PPE worked. I was afraid to get sick. I was afraid to bring the virus home. At the same time, I needed to show my children, Andrew (15), Sean (14), Daniel and Grace (11-year-old twins) and Maggie (7), that this was what doctors do. When people are sick, we go to work. We don’t do it alone, however. We rely on our spouses to pick up for us at home. So much thanks goes to my husband of 19 years, Bruce, for all his support through this and always. LEGACY Magazine | FAll 2020
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