Long into Their Careers, Two Nurses Reach Unexpected Apex

What could have been a run-of-the-mill wind down to the careers of two nurses turned out to be anything but that. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, any scenario they expected could be prefaced with “and, then.” However, there were no complaints from D&E Campus Nurse Diana Burke-Ross and Randolph-Elkins Health Department Infectious Disease Specialist Bonnie Woodrum ’86. Afterall, preventing disease and treating illness is what they do. It’s their passion. Still, the extra hours and uncertainties the world faced weren’t anywhere close to how they envisioned their work life as they begin to think about retirement. “This is right up my alley,” Woodrum said. “I’m in the business of disease prevention. I’ve actually been planning for things like a pandemic or disaster and doing drills for years.” For more than 20 years, Woodrum and Burke-Ross worked together on a community effort of preventive care – including flu vaccines – for Davis & Elkins College students. Each year they updated a closed Point of Dispensing (POD) plan, everything from logistics to timing of administering a medication in the event of a national health emergency. Every year, it sat on the shelf until they pulled it out again for a review. Of course, came another “and then.” The document became a part of the larger blueprint put together by the D&E COVID Task Force, a group of trustees and campus community members heeding advice from Woodrum. It covered everything from testing for the entire campus to quarantine space for positive cases and precautions to prevent possible exposure to the virus, all in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We worked out a method for what we would do if we saw an increase in the number of positive cases, how we would protect them from one another and protect the wider community at the same time,” Woodrum explained. “The College is an integral part of the community and it’s important that students

and their parents feel this is a safe place to be.” D&E Student Health Services continued to provide care while following COVID protocols through office visits with Dr. Kim Farry, OBGYN, ’85, Christina Hines, RN, MSN, CNM, and Dr. Farukh Khan, MD. Farry also served on the COVID Task Force providing advice and consultation. Guidelines from the CDC are emphasized on signage, campus monitors and through email messages. Wearing masks is mandatory and Burke-Ross says that’s helped with more than preventing spread of the corona virus. “The instances of flu, allergies and other respiratory illnesses is way down and I think that’s because everyone is wearing masks,” she said. “I know no one likes wearing them, but now you can really see a value of these masks.” When vaccines became available through the West Virginia Department of Education, Burke-Ross, along with Task Force members, employed a version of their POD plan to administer the shots to faculty, staff and some students. Later, when a mass vaccination clinic opened at the Phil Gainer Center in Elkins, Burke-Ross and Woodrum helped there. They, along with D&E nursing faculty, guided student nurses in vaccinating community members. Despite a hectic schedule and the discerning nature of the pandemic, BurkeRoss has still found a few bright points to the turn of events. “Normally I only see students, but with the testing and giving out the Davis & Elkins College student nurses Caitlin Kealley, left, vaccines I’ve been able to talk to faculty and staff and that’s been really nice,” and Kylee Knight prepare to administer COVID-19 vaccines at she said. “It’s been really interesting, and I’ve learned a lot about viruses and the Phil Gainer Community Center in Elkins. The students and how they’re transmitted from animals to humans. If you asked me if I would their classmates gained experience by volunteering at the community clinic. do it again, I would say I absolutely would. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it.”

Randolph-Elkins Health Department Infectious Disease Specialist Bonnie Woodrum ’86, left, and D&E Campus Nurse Diana Burke-Ross have worked together for more than 20 years to ensure preventative health care measures were in place for Davis & Elkins College students. Their team effort was also in place at the community COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Elkins.