The coronavirus pandemic is a situation that has altered day-to-day life for many around the world, especially for those in the United States. The country unfortunately has hit around 420,000 deaths. However, thanks to medical advances, a brighter future is on the horizon, and not only will the nation be able to overcome COVID-19, but the world will, too.
Healthcare workers around the globe are amongst those who deserve a lot of props for their efforts during this time, especially in Florida. The state has gone over the 1.6 million mark in terms of cases and has also hit the 26,000+ mark as far as deaths go. Needless to say, things haven’t been easy for those who work in the Florida medical field, but day-after-day their hard work and determination to combat COVID-19 shouldn’t go unnoticed.
The Jags seemingly have been paying attention to the hard work being put in and surprised four local and vaccinated healthcare workers this week with Super Bowl LV tickets and all-expense-paid trips to the big one. Earlier today, the team shared the video of each healthcare worker being informed of the news by Jags legend Tony Boselli.
Each of their names and occupations with Baptist Health are as follows per Jaguars.com:
- Kelly Guion, RN, Nurse Manager, Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville – Guion oversees a 48-bed COVID unit in downtown Jacksonville and provides direct patient care.
- Vincy Samuel, Ph.D., Director, Employee Health, Baptist Health – Samuel, an epidemiologist, served as the point person for employee health and plays a critical role in overseeing employee and patient vaccination rollout.
- Jodie Bisogno, RN, Director, Critical Care, Baptist Medical Center South – Bisogno has led the COVID unit at Baptist South since the beginning of the pandemic also providing direct patient care.
- Edward Gorak, DO, MBA, MS, FACP, Hematologist Oncologist, Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center – Gorak played a critical role in working alongside other physicians and clinical staff in developing a community-wide approach to combatting COVID.
They've worked non-stop to care for our community through the pandemic.
We are saying thank you by surprising 4 vaccinated @BaptistHealthJx health care workers with an all-expense paid trip to Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay! pic.twitter.com/xizVzscJ1F
— #DUUUVAL (@Jaguars) January 26, 2021
It’s certainly heartwarming to see those who cared for many patients throughout these hard times get recognized. Additionally, there may not have been a better person to speak with them than Boselli, who has seen first hand the care that is shown towards COVID-19 patients as he battled it from the hospital last year.
This year, the Super Bowl (hosted in Tampa) will only host 22,000 fans, which is a third of Raymond James Stadium’s capacity. With that being the case, the NFL has put forth an effort to make some of the fans in attendance healthcare workers who’ve been vaccinated as they could use a little break after the hard work they’ve put in.