Recognizing our Asian American and Pacific Islander team members on the front lines
Last month was Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month and now is an important time to celebrate our AAPI team members who are working tirelessly as healthcare heroes on the front lines. Heritage months are vital in celebrating our backgrounds, diversity, and history. As America’s top health system for diversity on DiversityInc‘s ranking of Top Hospitals and Health Systems, Northwell Health is committed to not only recognizing our diverse team members but celebrating their cultures, history, experiences, and their contributions within our organization.
“AAPI Heritage Month means taking a few moments to embrace different elements of our population and using them to serve our community and health system,” says Chandini Daswani, Practice Nurse Practitioner at Lenox Hill Hospital. “Although we have a big family here at Northwell, everyone brings their unique and individual backgrounds, which we can use to enhance what we can offer to our colleagues and patients.”
Hear from our team:To celebrate, we asked some of our AAPI team members about the importance of celebrating AAPI Heritage Month and the work that they’ve been doing on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Throughout the pandemic, I have been working remotely since mid-March, and my workload has increased substantially due to the influx of COVID-19 related research ideas. I have also been working as a Volunteer Emergency Medical Technician in the NYC 911 EMS system since mid-March during my evenings and weekends.”
“Recognizing and acknowledging that the AAPIs are part of the foundation of this great nation. I am a proud first-generation Filipino-American in this country. My role is to make sure that we promote patient safety while providing optimal dialysis treatments to our patients daily. During the pandemic, our team remains in full force, engaged and focused while we combat COVID-19 on our battlefield.”
“COVID–19 has not changed my role and responsibilities as a front line worker, and yet it brings the best out of people. It is nice to celebrate the AAPI Heritage Month during this pandemic with kindness, hope and lots of love.”
“During this pandemic, I took care of sick patients on COVID-19 medical floors and in intensive care units. It has been challenging to treat a disease that is new to us while sorting through a myriad of the latest discoveries on a daily basis. It has been extremely gratifying to watch patients recover and be reunited with their loved ones. As a physician, this is my ultimate reward.”
“I am honored to be part of the AAPI community because my background is what makes me a better physician. As an AAPI, I take pride in being a mentor to all of my residents and students and instilling in them the values that I developed and have been taught throughout my career.”
“I was given a huge opportunity to work in a team for the COVID-19 Remdesivir clinical trials as a research coordinator, mainly overseeing the Electronic Data Capture part. Sometimes it was difficult and upsetting to see patients going through a hard time, but I was happy to see them getting better. Working non-stop since March was physically tiring, but I believe it was worth it. I am happy to help fight the virus and be involved in improving healthcare.”
“Being a Filipino means we have a tight knit family and it broke my heart to see patients during COVID-19 without their families by their side. Thank God for the support of the hospital system where we were given the tools we needed to take care of our patients and our well being. We were able to take care of them the best way we could, and from the help of all the people around us we can overcome this pandemic.”
“The heritage month is about being able to incorporate our culture and heritage into a multi-diverse society. It makes me feel proud because our contributions, achievements and successes are being recognized to help better our community, society and nation as a whole. Therefore, it is an honor and privilege to be a part of this organization.”
“We recognized the contributions and influence of AAPIs to the United States. It is a celebration and also a great opportunity to learn more about the history and culture of AAPIs. I am proud that I am an Asian American.”
“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been an intense experience for me due to the numerous, urgent needs with COVID-19 related to clinical research and navigating regulatory pathways to use unapproved drugs and device products for COVID-19 patients. I feel that I have grown from these new challenges and developed new relationships with various team members throughout the organization.”
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