Coronavirus: First Responders Cheer Stanford Medical Workers

STANFORD, CA — Loud cheers filled the streets. Police lights flashed and sirens blared. Arms waved and some tears streamed.

That was the scene at dawn today at Stanford Hospital as several hundred first responders representing 12 public safety agencies from Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and the state showed up in force for what the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office called a “Appreciation Event” honoring the front-line medical workers risking their lives amid the new coronavirus outbreak.

Public safety personnel started gathering at 6 a.m. in front of the Stanford Healthcare’s main entrance on Pasteur Drive and outside Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital on Welch Road and Stanford Pediatric Emergency Room on Quarry Road, as doctors and nurses shuttled in and out of the facilities, some on their way home from graveyard shifts and others just getting their workdays started.

First responders have shown appreciation for front-line medical workers amid the COVID-19 crisis in recent weeks with similar events in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles County, among other parts of the country.

“This was important to us because we wanted to be able to thank and recognize the working staff at Stanford (Hospital),” Santa Clara Sheriff’s Deputy Jessica Gabaldon said.
“They are genuinely putting their life on the line and we wanted to show our gratitude.”

Thursday’s Appreciation Event was the third held by the sheriff’s office in just over a week.
The sheriff’s office held similar events at Santa Clara Medical Center on Thursday, April 16, and at St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and O’Conner Hospital in San Jose on Friday, April 17.

“It’s so good to see all of their smiling faces, and some of them crying out of joy,” Gabaldon said. “Something like this, they don’t get the acknowledgement in this kind of fashion, so for them to be publicly recognized and honored I think it definitely makes them feel great.

“That’s what we wanted to do as they’re on their way in and when they were on their way home. We want to be able to fill their hearts with some warmth.”

Medical workers took notice of Thursday morning’s event, said Stanford Children’s Health associate chief nursing officer Luanne Smedley, who attended Thursday morning’s event.

“We are so grateful to the many law enforcement officers who came to the hospital this morning. It was very uplifting for our health care workers who show up every day during this pandemic to care for our patients,” Smedley said.

“Receiving the cheers and gratitude from officers who are also on the frontlines was an emotional and touching experience.”

Full coronavirus coverage: California Coronavirus: Latest Updates On Cases, Orders, Closures

Amid this pandemic there is a genuine appreciation of the risks doctors and nurses take caring for COVID-19 patients from those who do so routinely, Gabaldon said.

More than 9,200 medical workers had tested positive for COVID-19 as of April 15 according to a CNN report, citing the data from the Centers for Disease Control. Among the infected healthcare workers 184 had been admitted to intensive care units and 27 died as of the April 15 reporting.

In some states as many as 20% of known COVID-19 cases were among medical workers, The Guardian reports.

The growing list of medical workers around the world who have died from the coronavirus is available online at Medscape.

“They’re going to work and risking their lives,” Gabaldon said. “As a law enforcement officer when we put on our uniform, we put our gear on and we have a gun on our side, we go out there knowing that we’re risking our lives, but this time around they’re going into work geared up and risking their lives so they are now in turn the actual heroes and they are the true front-line (medical) staff.”

The Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department, Palo Alto Police Department, Palo Alto Fire Department, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol, Foothill/De Anza Police Department, Los Altos Police Department, Menlo Park Police Department, Menlo Park Fire Department, Mountain View Police Department, Mountain View Fire Department and California Department of Fish and Wildlife, showed up to show their appreciation for doctors and nurses, among other medical staffers Thursday.

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