CABINET REPORT: LAKE LAND COLLEGE ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR FALL 2020

CABINET REPORT:

MOVING FORWARD WITH LAKE LAND COLLEGE

SILVER LININGS FROM ALUMNI WORKING IN THE

HEALTHCARE FRONT LINES

CHASE Center in Springfield when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Though Cullison said it was a MUNRO FROM challenge to work amid the outbreak, she also saw several positive aspects come out of the situation. One example she mentioned was that MATTOON is an EMT working toward getting a medic’s license from Lake Land College. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Munro was sent to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to she kept coming home to find her yard mowed. “I didn’t know who was doing it, it just kept happening,” Cullison said. "I finally caught my neighbor from down the block doing it. She simply said ‘You’re an ICU nurse, right? You just keep taking care of other people and I’ll help you out.’ It’s those kinds of acts that really mean something, and it inspires me to pay it forward.” help with the screening of disembarking passengers there. With Munro and his coworkers screening incoming flights from Europe, he said many of those he screened were college students returning home from study abroad. Lana Keigley, Laker Nation Class of 2019, from Charleston is a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon. Keigley works in a walk-in clinic as well “I saw people from Germany, France, Lithuania, Greece, Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia,” Munro said. “They were just trying to get back home, so we were trying the best we could to help them do just that.” as internal medicine and pediatrics, and though she said the situation with COVID-19 has been a difficult one, she sees a great deal of positive Munro is one of many Lake Land College alumni on the front lines of the virus that, though the pandemic has certainly brought about a great deal of turmoil, has found a silver lining in the chaos. Several alumni took the opportunity to share some moments of positivity they experienced amid the challenging times. “THERE MAY BE MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE WONDERING ‘WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING IN THIS OCCUPATION?' I FOR ONE COULD NOT BE PROUDER. I THANK LAKE LAND COLLEGE FOR THE OUTSTANDING EDUCATION I HAVE RECEIVED AND CONTINUE TO RECEIVE." aspects as well. Mentioning videos, neighborhoods coming together while social distancing to celebrate a stranger’s birthday, anniversary or bringing someone something they need, Keigley said she is pleased to see how people are spreading joy and love. “There may be many people that are wondering ‘What the heck Lake Land College 2015 graduate Autumn Cullison, BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA, was working at Memorial Medical am I doing in this occupation?’” Keigley said. “I for one could not be prouder. I thank Lake Land College for the outstanding education I have received and -KEIGLEY continue to receive. Lake Land College has an intense program built around experienced educators. I could not be more grateful to have been given the opportunity to feel proud and purposeful every single day.”

Laura Eggers, Laker Nation Class of 2015, works as a paramedic at Lincoln County EMS in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Eggers said her motivation has always been about the patient. If she can help just one patient, then she feels that she has done good work.

“Sometimes it’s just to hold their hand and be emotionally supportive to our community,” Eggers said. “If the community can see us out here on the front lines and see that we’re doing okay, then maybe they can think they can be okay too.”

Steven Gray, chief operations officer and co-owner of Lakeside EMS in Effingham, graduated from Lake Land College in 2018 as a paramedic. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Gray was stationed along with his team in Brooklyn, New York to assist medical personnel there. Even in an area where the virus was so widespread, Gray said his motivation to get up every day and help take care of people comes from his family as well as his team and their families.

Dr. Tyler Holsapple, Laker Nation Class of 2008, is a resident physician in family medicine at Overlook Medical Center in Southern New Jersey. Though it is a difficult time, Holsapple said one of the positive impacts he has noticed from the situation is how healthcare workers have come together.