St. Elizabeth Healthcare is recognizing one full year of COVID-19 care with a memorial service today, at St. Elizabeth Ft. Thomas.
Honoring its associates and patients with a moment of solidarity, the service will begin at 12:50 p.m., one year and 12 hours after the first COVID-19 patient was admitted to St. Elizabeth in 2020.
Garren Colvin
“Today is a somber, yet hopeful occasion to bring our community and associates together safely for a day of remembrance, healing and solidarity,” said Garren Colvin, president and chief executive officer of St. Elizabeth Healthcare. “Collectively, we’ve experienced great loss over this past year, and we have grieved with families whose loved ones were taken far too soon by this insidious virus. Throughout this pandemic, our associates have worked tirelessly to provide the best care and support to our patients. Like the rest of our community, we look forward with hopeful anticipation to the days beyond this crisis.”
The memorial will include a moment of silence in recognition of the lives lost and a socially distanced prayer circle, led by “>Neaoma Clephane, a patient treated for COVID-19 at St. Elizabeth. Speakers throughout the St. Elizabeth Healthcare system will share their stories, reflect on advancements in medicine and look forward to a safer, healthier future.
St. Elizabeth encourages the community to join in the moment of silence and commemorate the remembrance in their respective spaces at 1 p.m. today. Community members are invited to share pictures and stories on social media to honor those lost and our healthcare heroes using #STEproud.
St. Elizabeth will share a recording of the service on social media for community viewing following the event.
Lee Ann Ernst
“I’ve been a nurse since 1982, but this has been the biggest year for teamwork, patient care and hard work,” remarked Lee Ann Ernst, nurse and coordinator of the Infectious Disease Response Team (IDRT), which has led the charge in fighting COVID-19 since day one. “My coworkers who joined the IDRT were always willing to show up and risk their own health to care for COVID-19 patients. Now that a year has passed, it’s time to look back at how far we’ve come.”
Local schools prepared butterfly color pages, symbolizing rebirth, resiliency and hope, to decorate the hospital grounds.
After this weekend, St. Elizabeth will reach a vaccine milestone by administering more than 70,000 vaccinations in the Northern Kentucky community. For more information on vaccinations, click here.
