A select group of Intermountain caregivers are reflecting on the one-year anniversary of their trip to New York. (PHOTO: Courtesy of Intermountain Healthcare)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A select group of caregivers with Intermountain Healthcare are reflecting on the one-year anniversary of their trip to New York.
This time last year, New York hospitals were being overwhelmed by sick COVID-19 patients. In response, Intermountain Healthcare rounded up 100 caregivers and sent them to the frontlines for two-weeks.
One of the individuals on that trip was Doctor Dixie Harris, a critical care ICU physician with Intermountain Healthcare.
“I remember everything happened so quick,” Doctor Harris recalled. “The call came out and within very short days we were all on the airplane and landing. We went as a team and we joined an amazing team.”
The arrival of Doctor Harris and other Intermountain caregivers allowed frontline workers at Northwell Health and New York Presbyterian hospitals the opportunity to take a breath.
“At the hospital I was assigned, their ICU was at six times capacity [compared] to what they’ve been used to,” she explained. “My role was I mostly did nights to give the ICU doctors some breaks.”
Looking back on the experience, Doctor Harris says the two-week stint provided her with crucial experience for when Utah would also experience a COVID-19 surge.
When that time came, 30 caregivers from Northwell Health in New York returned the favor and traveled to Utah to help our caregivers.