CORONAVIRUS: STRONGER TOGETHER
Utah Couple In NYC To Help With COVID-19 Response
Apr 14, 2020, 10:32 PM | Updated: 10:32 pm
SPRINGVILLE, Utah – A plane filled with caregivers from Intermountain Healthcare left Salt Lake City and headed to New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.
KSL has been in touch with other small groups of healthcare professionals from Utah already on the ground, including a husband and wife.
Michael and Sarah Hunt live in Springville and both have an extensive medical background.
They said once they heard the call for help, they couldn’t ignore it. On Tuesday night, their first 12-hour shift was underway.
From their hotel room in New York City, Michael and Sarah Hunt began what they expect to be a 21-day journey in a city they say has already changed drastically.
“There’s a definite, palpable fear in the city,” said Sarah Hunt. “We’ve been here before and this is not the same city. There is just no one in the street.”
Michael is a cardiac nurse and Sarah is a nurse practitioner with years of experience in the intensive care unit.
“I believe it does humble us (being here),” said Michael Hunt. “Back in Utah, we have significantly less numbers of COVID-19 and I think some of us take that for granted.”
When KSL spoke with them, they had just completed an orientation and were awaiting specific assignments.
“It sounds like a lot of death is around and we are being told to be mentally prepared,” said Michael Hunt.
They said the decision to leave Utah wasn’t taken lightly, and they knew the risks. They have no children and their extended family is nervous but supportive.
“(There is) dome fear about what’s coming,” Sarah Hunt said. “There is the question of what could happen to us health-wise and there was a lot of anxiety in the 48 hours it took to make the decision to come out here.”
They said in the short time since they’ve landed, their perspective is already shifting.
“We’ve never experienced anything like this so it will be new,” Michael Hunt said. “I don’t think we will be fully prepared and all we can do is try our best.”
Thousands of miles from home, but together.
“I think for both of us it just comes down to the heart of nursing and we just want to help others,” Sarah Hunt said.
