Salt Lake City, UT -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/14/2020 --As the last group of nurses from New York's Northwell Health leaves Salt Lake City after working and helping Utah's Intermountain Healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, a special event was held on Friday to thank and honor the departing caregivers.
The 10 ICU nurses are among 30 that came to Utah to work with Intermountain caregivers as part of a collaborative partnership to assist each other and share best practices and protocols for the treatment and support of COVID-19 and non-COVID patients.
"This has been a great opportunity for both nurses from Intermountain and Northwell as we've learned from each other," said Sue Robel, Intermountain Healthcare's senior vice president of clinical operations and chief nursing executive. "This is a wonderful start for many great things to come and because this collaboration has been so successful, we will be looking for ways to work together in the future."
Last April, Intermountain deployed two COVID-19 Response Teams totaling 100 caregivers to assist New York City-area hospitals during that state's major surge of COVID-19 cases. Those hospitals returned the favor when their surge subsided.
Although Utah is not currently experiencing a surge of COVID-19 patients, these highly-trained ICU nurses from Northwell Health have supported ICU teams for the past six weeks as Intermountain teams have crossed trained and shared best practices to benefit patients, caregivers and the community.
Northwell Health treated more than 70,000 COVID-19 patients during the height of the pandemic in New York, more than any other health system in the nation.
The three groups of Northwell nurses spent two-week assignments working in the ICUs at Intermountain Medical Center.
"This has been such an interesting opportunity to see how other systems work," said Northwell Health nurse, Ronni Kivovitz, RN. "A great nursing system transcends across different states. Intermountain sent us a group of nurses who saved our butts back in April."
The visiting Northwell nurses said they enjoyed reconnecting with the Intermountain clinicians who went to New York, working with the patients, and exploring Utah during their off days, but had some advice for Utah residents.
"It was great to see people again who we worked with in New York," said Northwell Health nurse, Nancy Delassalle, RN. "My advice to Utahns, wear your mask! Coming from New York, you have to wear your mask. Distance. And be mindful of others around you."
Robel also took the opportunity to celebrate and honor all nurses who have worked so hard during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I have a deep respect for each of you and the importance of your work as you care for patients, as well as the great flexibility you have shown during these times of uncertainty," said Robel.
About Intermountain Healthcare
Intermountain Healthcare is a not-for-profit system of 24 hospitals, 215 clinics, a Medical Group with 2,500 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services in Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes and sustainable costs. For more information, see intermountainhealthcare.org.
About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is a nonprofit integrated healthcare network that is New York State's largest healthcare provider and private employer, with more than 68,000 employees.
