Pilots, Drivers Honor Health Care Workers In Time Of Coronavirus

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Pilots flew vintage World War II Stearman biplanes and local residents participated in a car parade in Fredericksburg Wednesday to honor health care workers who are working on the front lines to take care of patients during the coronavirus crisis.

The car parade was organized by Ashley Hawk, a King George County resident who wanted to give back and show support for the health care workers at Mary Washington Hospital. Hawk created a MW Hospital Love Day Facebook event that drew more than 200 cars to Mary Washington Hospital for Wednesday's parade, which featured honking horns, painted windows and homemade signs.

“The community means everything, because without it we wouldn’t be able to share all this love,” Hawk said. “From the cleaning crews at night to the doctors and nurses on the frontlines, you guys show so much love for people who have nobody right now because they're alone. They can't have anybody in the hospital."

The pilots, all Virginia residents, flew five Stearman biplanes in formation by Stafford Hospital and then traveled south to do a flyover at Mary Washington Hospital. Stafford Hospital and Mary Washington Hospital are owned by Mary Washington Healthcare.

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Each of the pilots is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Stearman Association based in Virginia. MASA exists to promote Stearman flying and to preserve the vintage WWII biplanes. Some of the pilots regularly fly with the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton in Fauquier County, which is in its 50th year of operation.

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“Anything we can do to make them a little bit happier, give a little cheer into their day, that’s what we wanted to do, to give something back to these people … heroes, every single one of them," said Lee Fox, a Stearman pilot who coordinated the flyover.

Mary Washington and Stafford Hospitals primarily treat patients who live in the Rappahannock Health District, which covers the City of Fredericksburg, along with Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George and Caroline counties.

As of Thursday, 336 people in the health district had tested positive for the coronavirus and nine people have died. Fredericksburg has reported 20 positive cases and no deaths from the coronavirus.

The Rappahannock Area Health District and the West Piedmont Health District are the only two health districts in the state without an official outbreak of the coronavirus. The West Piedmont Health District oversees Henry, Franklin and Patrick counties and the city of Martinsville.

Last week, Mary Washington Hospital employees gathered in the atrium of the hospital to give two women who had been hospitalized with the coronavirus a send-off as they were pushed in wheelchairs to the hospital exit. So far, the two hospitals have been able to take care of their coronavirus patients without having to send patients to medical facilities in other regions of the state or use the field hospital that Mary Washington Hospital created in its parking garage.

"With the stay-at-home orders and the social distancing that have been taken so seriously by every member of the community, those models show that we are flattening the curve," Dr. Michael McDermott, president and chief executive officer of Mary Washington Healthcare, said April 16 at a virtual town hall held by the health care system.

By flattening the curve, Mary Washington Healthcare's facilities in Fredericksburg and Stafford County now have the capacity to treat every patient who comes in sick with the coronavirus, he said. But McDermott cautioned that Mary Washington Healthcare's hospitals and others across the state could easily reach their capacity in the coming weeks if people do not follow the governor's order to stay at home.

Hawk was thrilled that more than 200 cars showed up for the parade in Fredericksburg. But she wasn't surprised by the number of people who feel the same way she does about the hospital's employees.

"You guys are really angels. We appreciate all your hard work and your dedication and your compassion for all these people when they need it the most," Hawk said.

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