About the report
Newsday reporter David Olson learns how to properly and safely don and remove personal protective equipment at Mount Sinai South Nassau hopsital in Oceanside on April 13. Credit: Jeffrey Basinger
Videographer/photographer Jeffrey Basinger and reporter David Olson were invited to spend three days, April 13-15, inside Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside to chronicle the stories of the heroic front-line health care workers in the battle against COVID-19.
Olson and Basinger underwent training by hospital staff on how to wear and remove personal protective equipment — such as an N95 mask and protective gown — before entering COVID-19 areas. This personal protective equipment supplied by the hospital was worn any time they were in the emergency department, ICU and patient rooms.
Every effort was made to be respectful of the patients and not to get in the way of hospital staff administering care. Interviews were conducted only when health care workers made themselves available. Newsday agreed not to identify any patients by name without their written permission. Any patients' faces in the background of videos and photos were blurred to protect their privacy.
The article, videos and photos illustrated the extraordinary bravery of health care workers in risking their health and lives to treat a highly infectious disease. The devastation caused by the virus — and the compassion from caregivers — was shown in the stories and the images of ICU patients fighting for survival as well as those who lost their battle with COVID-19. Hope also was conveyed — in the woman who, as a result of her care at South Nassau, is now able to breathe on her own and the joy of hearing "Here Comes the Sun" when a COVID-19 patient is discharged.
