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It’s time! As we move through the month of September, we are experiencing a third wave of COVID-19
infection. The delta variant of COVID-19 is leading to an increase in cases and hospitalizations.
How do we finally get back to normal? How do we return to living our lives like we
did before February 2020?
The answer is simple: Vaccination.
It is time for all members of our workforce and our community to take the jab! The
FDA has formally approved the Pfizer vaccine. This approval indicates that the Pfizer
vaccine is overwhelmingly effective and safe. Approval of the Moderna vaccine will
follow shortly. No longer can people say “the vaccine is experimental” as justification
for refusing vaccination. But people are now saying, “even if I get the vaccine I
can still get COVID, so why bother?”
It is important to understand the facts. New York State recently published information
on COVID-19 cases seen from May 3–July 25, 2021, indicating that the effectiveness
of vaccination against infection for all New York adults remains at nearly 80 percent.
The data also indicates that even with the delta variant, vaccination continues to
be highly effective in preventing infection. More importantly, vaccine effectiveness
against hospitalization in New York was 95 percent during this time period. It is
clear that the vaccines prevent infection at a high level and prevent severe infection
almost universally.
You are all well aware that COVID-19 has taken its toll on our hospital and our community.
We are tired of seeing the devastation and we all want to get back to “normal.”
It’s time! Please do the right thing: Roll up your sleeve, take the jab. Protect yourself, your
family, your patients, and your community.
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Antonietta L. Demisana, BSN, RN, MAN, who joined UHB’s Ambulatory Surgery team in
2018, is one of our pre-op holding nurses and a dedicated, conscientious registered
nurse with 30+ years of experience. Her present role as TRCN II includes evaluating
and assessing patients before surgery and ensuring that all pertinent documents and
laboratory tests have been ordered and adhere to hospital policy. She is known for
her professional, friendly, positive, and caring attitude towards patients, physicians,
and staff.Ms. Demisana upholds best-practice nursing care standards and rigorously
applies them to assessment, implementation, and patient care evaluation. This includes
using evidence-based processes to confirm patient identity, a core principle of safe
care. Also key are her analytical skills, which she says, are fundamental to the kind
of critical thinking and excellence demanded of those who work in an academic hospital
setting. She knows a little something about that. Before emigrating to the United
States from the Philippines, Ms. Demisana was in academe and taught in a college of
nursing for what she describes as 21 long and productive years. “It's humbling and
fulfilling,” she says, “to be a part of the professional and successful career of
hundreds of former students who are now registered nurses all over the globe.”Please
join us in congratulating Antonietta Demisana on her amazing accomplishments at our
hospital. We look forward to many more accolades in the years to come.
