Translator for an anxious public

Assistant Professor Nadia Abuelezam, who is an infectious disease epidemiologist, has taken on the role of public spokeswoman and translator of COVID-19 facts and information for an anxious public.

In March, Abuelezam and other Boston College and Boston University experts in biology, medicine, political science, and public health gathered in a virtual panel discussion to explore the epidemiology and status of COVID-19 around the world, and the global, national, and local politics and policies adopted so far to address it.

Working with COVID+ patients

Associate Professor Jane Ashley (shown, right, with Alex Rhoads ’13) is working with COVID+ patients at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on a floor where she previously cared for trauma patients.

Donna Cullinan

Clinical Assistant Professor Donna Cullinan runs a clinic at Fuller Village in Milton that has been caring for patients with chronic or urgent conditions who are not being seen in an office setting because of the pandemic. Population Health student Kathryn Ferguson ’20 worked alongside Cullinan in April.

Julie Dunne

Clinical Assistant Professor Julie Dunne volunteered at the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) Center for Mindfulness and Compassion to provide guided meditation sessions for nurses and other health care providers on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, and does the same for BC students, faculty, and staff. She also worked in the CHA department of outpatient psychiatry, both in telehealth—to help people with non-acute issues receive care while they practice physical distancing—and during person-to-person, urgent care encounters.

Holly Fontenot

Associate Professor Holly Fontenot was appointed to represent the Society of Adolescent Health on the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Adult Immunization Schedule Workgroup, putting her on the front lines of new vaccine policies in the U.S.

Nanci Haze

Assistant Clinical Instructor Nanci Haze is a consultant on the acute pain treatment team at Boston Children’s Hospital, which remains committed to helping children with their pain needs, albeit with new social distancing measures and proper protection to remain vigilant against exposure.

Dorean Behney Hurley

Clinical Instructor Dorean Behney Hurley has been working with coronavirus patients in the surgical ICU at Emerson Hospital in Concord, managing their respiratory status and helping families provide emotional support remotely through digital applications.

Mary Kelley

Part-time Adult Health faculty member Mary Kelley, an RN at Brigham and Women’s, was interviewed on Boston’s Channel 7 News about a patient whose family was able to “visit” safely in spite of the current no-visitor policy. They waved to one another through the hospital’s glass bridge.

Kathleen Mansfield

Clinical Instructor Kathleen Mansfield is working in a registry pool at Boston Children’s Hospital that has her float throughout the hospital’s floors as needed.

Cherlie Magny-Normilus

CSON Research Scholar Cherlie Magny-Normilus was interviewed on a Haiti-based radio station about the importance of social distancing, cultural health beliefs, signs and symptoms, rapid COVID-19 testing sites, and information for family caregivers. She is a nurse practitioner who works part-time at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

Alison Marshall

Clinical Instructor Alison Marshall is working on the Influenza-like Illness floor at South Boston Community Health Center, where she assesses, treats, and manages patients until they either return home when stable enough or are transferred to the Emergency Department for more intensive therapy.  

Christine Repsha

A lab team led by Clinical Instructor Christine Repsha, who directs CSON’s Clinical Learning and Simulation Centers, identified options for virtual simulation and remote clinical learning to ensure our students meet the requirements to graduate and sit for the NCLEX on time.

Jacqueline Sly

Clinical Instructor and CSON Assistant Department Chair Jacqueline Sly (shown here in daughter’s chemistry googles) is working with outpatient COVID-19 patients and families—including those most vulnerable—to try to stop the spread of the virus within homes.

Allan Thomas

Nurse Anesthesia Clinical Instructor Allan Thomas has been caring for patients in need of anesthesia at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge.

Sherri St. Pierre

Clinical Assistant Professor Sherri St. Pierre volunteered at Mutual Aid Worcester, providing referrals and resources for social services including MassHealth, access to food pantries, and mental health counseling.  She and her daughter, Kate, also deliver food from the Immigrant and Refugee Pantry to Worcester residents weekly.

Judith Vessey

Judith Vessey, CSON’s Lelia Holden Carroll Endowed Professor in Nursing, co-authored the editorial “Everything Old Is New Again: COVID-19 and Public Health” in the April issue of the Journal of Pediatric Nursing.