Video courtesy CHI Health
A CHI Health St. Francis nurse and Good Samaritan doctor, who were among the first CHI Health staff vaccinated for the coronavirus, shared their experiences Tuesday on a Zoom call with the media.
The two staff members were Aria Diehl, a registered nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Francis, and Dr. Jason Shuda, a hospitalist at Good Samaritan in Kearney. They were joined on the call by Dr. Cliff Robertson, CHI Health CEO.
Robertson said the 14 CHI hospitals in Nebraska and Iowa started the week with 192 patients who tested positive for the virus. That was down from 229 patients the prior week.
CHI Health frontline health care workers give testimony about receiving COVID-19 vaccine theindependent.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theindependent.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
KEARNEY â âThis is like a wonderful Christmas present that we get to open early.â
Thatâs what Dr. Michael Lawson, who practices internal medicine at Kearney Regional Medical Center, said at about 3 p.m. Tuesday as Nita Deyo, nursing services manager, administered the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
At about the same time, Dr. Jason Shuda, a hospitalist at CHI Health Good Samaritan, was being inoculated by nurse Judy Mullen. He was the first of 60 Good Sam employees to receive the vaccine Tuesday.
âItâs an honor to be the first. Itâs been a long year,â Shuda said. âThey turned this vaccine around in record time, and for people working on the front lines, it is going to give me and my family peace of mind.â