UR Nursing Students
to Help Community’s COVID-19 Efforts When the University of Rochester School of Nursing switched to remote learning and most of the students’ clinical hours and jobs were put on hold at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Andrew Wolf, EdD, MS, RN, ACNP-C, director of educational effectiveness and assistant professor of clinical nursing, sensed an opportunity. He emailed UR Nursing graduate students asking if they’d be willing to help the Monroe County Health Department’s COVID-19 relief efforts. Wolf received an overwhelming number of responses. Within a few hours, more than 40 students offered to volunteer their time and knowledge to aid others. One of the volunteers, Kathleen Mullaney, RN, had just eloped with her then-fiancé in a Texas courthouse where they exchanged vows and $10 Walmart rings while their families watched on Zoom. The couple had planned to marry in Rochester in June, but decided to forego a larger ceremony and reception for the well-being of their loved ones. A student in the combined Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) to Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, Mullaney had temporarily relocated to Texas because that’s where her husband was stationed, and because her current employer, St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center, had closed its doors to patients due to state-mandated guidelines. Although she was living more than 1,000 miles away from Rochester, Mullaney answered the public’s questions submitted through Monroe County’s COVID19 phone hotline and designated email account. She and other volunteers were provided access to the county’s secure system where the emails and phone calls were collected. Volunteers were responsible for answering each question based on their expertise, research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s website, and other validated resources. “I have a really deep connection with the Rochester community. I want to make sure things are going well, and that I’m at least part of the solution,” Mullaney said. “Having these conversations, even though I’m far away, is important to me. “It eases our anxieties, but it also helps the community and the department of health who are most likely feeling overwhelmed. Educating and helping others through hard times is in our nature and, for some, volunteering helps provide a sense of normalcy.” While Mullaney was staying connected to Rochester from across the country, Tom Bonfiglio, who was halfway through the one-year Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses (ABPNN), couldn’t have been closer to the city’s COVID19 front line. Monroe County’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) solicited nurses and student nurses to administer COVID-19 screenings, deliver isolation and quarantine instructions, provide wellness checks on isolated patients, and drop off sanitation supplies to patients in home isolation. When he wasn’t studying, Bonfiglio donned PPE and joined this group of volunteers. For Bonfiglio, these visits were not unfamiliar. His EMS experience spans over 25 years and has no borders. Prior to enrolling at the UR School of Nursing last year, he had worked as regional director for American Medical Response and 32 NURSING 2020 Volume 2
Mullaney
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