When we published our first piece on COVID-19 in January 2020, no one expected the lasting impact the coronavirus would have, locally and globally. Beginning in March, schools and businesses closed, and shortly after nations and populations were unevenly impacted by death, disease, and economic downturns. It was the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, but nurses were thrust into the spotlight for an entirely different reason. You showed resilience and advocacy… but felt exhausted and overwhelmed.
As we reflect on a year of challenges and hard-won victories, here are some highlights from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.
The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing community spent 3,486 hours volunteering from March 2020 to February 2021.
Faculty, staff and students have been helping. You have volunteered to coordinate or deliver vaccines, you have organized COVID-19 hotlines, you have checked in on elderly neighbors who were shut in, and more.
- Amanda Wyatt, DNP Executive Track student, received the COVID-19 Pandemic Campaign Medal from the National Indian Health Board.
- Katarzyna LaLicata, Mehrunnissa Taj, and Asma Ahmed, DNP Executive Track students were finalists in the Johns Hopkins CBID COVID-19 Challenge.
COVID Considerations, a series in the Dean’s Podcast, chronicled the early days of the pandemic.
And admissions officers developed Admissions Talks when they were unable to attend conference. The series offer application advice.
Research projects pivoted to offer support amidst COVID-19.
Many researchers with active projects shifted their focus to best support the communities they serve. Henderson-Hopkins offered virtual town halls, food drives, and free laptops for students. Dr. Michael Sanchez’s telehealth pilot program was scaled up to serve his entire clinic. And the Little Holy One research team supported tribal efforts to fundraise for masks, food and supplies to support reservation families in isolation and quarantine.
- Henderson-Hopkins Pivots to Provide Community Support
- Michael Sanchez, Anatomy of a Hopkins Nurse
- Faced with a Pandemic, “Little Holy One” is Guided by Indigenous Values
We developed real-time research to support the COVID-19 response.
From determining if we can test saliva for COVID-19 to developing a national strategy for COVID-19 antibody testing, to best practices for breastfeeding safely, to expanding telehealth access in stroke patient discharge and collecting and coordinating recommendations from front line nurses, and even implementing virtual reality in simulation to support educational continuity.
- The Wisdom of Frontline Nurses
- A National Strategy for COVID-19 Antibody Testing
- Amidst COVID-19, Virtual Reality Makes “Social Distancing” Simulation Possible
- What Nurses Need to Know: Stroke and the Rise of Telehealth
Dr. Jason Farley, Dr. Michelle Patch, and Neysa Ernst, nurse manager at Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Biocontainment Unit and DNP Executive Track student, emerge as experts in the media.
Many faculty and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing community were frequently featured in the media. However, these three were quoted in news sources over a hundred times, and Dr. Jason Farley received the COVID-19 Courage Award in Science, from AAN the American Academy of Nursing.
Dr. Deb Baker and other Chief Nursing Officers shared lessons in health systems leadership
The Reflections of a CNO lecture series launched in July with Deborah Baker, DNP, RN, ACNP, NEA-BC, Senior Vice President for Nursing of the Johns Hopkins Health System and the Vice President for Nursing and Patient Care Services at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She was followed by LeighAnn Sidone, Chief Nursing Officer and acting president of Suburban Hospital.
From Dr. Baker:
Without a doubt, I am most proud of the teamwork of all disciplines coordinated by the Johns Hopkins Medicine Incident Command Team of which nursing plays a large part—as part of the JHM Unified Command and at ACH affiliate command.
New, free courses are offered to support the COVID-19 response
The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing partnered with FutureLearn, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and more to establish best practices for moving through the pandemic.
- COVID-19: Effective Nursing in Times of Crisis
- The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Offers Free Online Course in Administering COVID-19 vaccination
- Online courses address COVID-19 challenges for assisted living and senior housing communities
And finally… New, mobile clinics are here to deliver COVID-19 vaccines in Baltimore
We are committed to the health of our community and stand ready to respond to the areas of priority,” said Dr. Michelle Patch.
Along with Johns Hopkins Medicine, MedStar Health, Sinai Lifebridge, and the Baltimore Health Department, the school of nursing launched a mobile vaccination clinic to help the people of Baltimore.
Mobile clinics to deliver COVID-19 vaccines in Baltimore
